- ANNOUNCER: The Texas Parks and Wildlife Television Series is supported in part by Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation -- conserving the wild things and wild places of Texas, thanks to members across the state.

Additional funding is provided by Toyota.

Your local Toyota dealers are proud to support outdoor recreation and conservation in Texas.

Toyota -- Let's Go Places.

- NARRATOR: Coming up on Texas Parks and Wildlife... - We're using the dam more as a tool to put some degree of function back in place.

- We draw folks from all over the world.

It still has that feel of nature.

- In a select few rivers and creeks, the state fish of Texas hunts the rapids; the Guadalupe bass.

[theme music] ♪ ♪ - NARRATOR: Texas Parks and Wildlife, a television series for all outdoors.

[frogs, crickets chirp] [motor rumbling] - ROBERT: I grew up in East Texas, born and raised.

I've lived here for the last 52 years on the banks of the lake.

As a kid, I just thought it was a place to hunt and fish.

It was just a tool to use.

It was my backyard is where I grew up when I played.

As I got older, I started to appreciate the birds, the fish, the different animals that make up this ecosystem and the rises and falls of water.

I started to realize what was happening when we got drought, when we got floods and how it all worked together to create this ecosystem.

[dramatic music] Nature needs certain times of year, certain flows, sometimes high water, sometimes low water to disperse seeds, to trigger fish to spawn.

In the 1940s, there were quite a few devastating floods in and around Texas, so there was a lot of dam building that went on in the '50s.

There's three primary tributaries to Caddo Lake.

Big Cyprus is the biggest one and was one of the areas that was impounded to control some dangerous flooding, but they operated it so they would keep a steady level at Caddo.

[dramatic music] - It wasn't immediately obvious what was going on, but over time there was a lot of die off of trees, fish that were here disappeared, wetlands were no longer connected to one another.

The overall system just wasn't functioning.

It's not practical to remove the dam.

There would be too much damage to historic towns and population centers but by tweaking the way they're operated, we can make sure we're balancing the needs of nature with the needs of people.

If we can try to recreate mother nature within the limits of the dam, what would that look like?

What would it take to keep the forest healthy, to try and see more of these specialized fish that should be here, to get them back?

[soft music] - In this case, we're using the dam more as a tool to put some degree of function back in place.

The Corps engineer staff took a look at how they operate the dam and looked at our flow recommendations.

They adopted a change to work in these flows.

What we're seeing out here may not look like much, but this is actually the result of what the Corps of Engineers releasing our prescriptions looks like.

Just like a doctor prescribing just what the patient needs and this is what the river needs.

Not only has the Corps been releasing these flows, but we've actually put in place the science to see if the ecosystem is responding to that.

With even some small changes to how the flows are released, we've seen the systems bounce back.

[soft music] The fish community's already beginning to respond to the flows.

Some of these ones that we call fluvial specialists, so like the faster moving water like this, we're seeing their numbers go up.

These are some of the fish that we want to see more of.

These are responding really well to the flow releases.

[soft music] [distant woodpecker pecking] [soft music] - LAURA-ASHLEY: These are simple tweaks to maintain the function of the system.

There's no reason for us not to do this.

Caddo Lake means too much to too many people and it means too much to too many different species for us to lose it.

[soft music] - ROBERT: I've been other places to visit, but it's just not the same.

I always just keep coming back to here.

It's just a special place.

Within five minutes from the dock, you can forget what year it is, maybe what century it is.

[soft music] It's worth doing everything you can to leave it better than we found it.

[soft music] There are a lot of lakes in Texas.

There's only one Caddo.

It's worth saving.

[dramatic music] ♪ ♪ Celebrating a century of Texas State Parks.

[wind whooshing] [birds chirping] [gentle guitar music] - To me, Caprock is, it's like a whole other world out here.

We're one of the largest parks in the state.

We are the only park that has the Texas State Bison herd free-roaming in it.

We draw folks from all over the world now, and they specifically come wanting to see the bison.

[gentle guitar music] - It's looking for something.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

[bison snorting] - REBECCA: You may encounter 'em on the trails, they come into the camping loops.

It's kind of the Yellowstone experience, but here in Texas.

[gentle guitar music] The most popular trails are the Upper South Prong, North Prong Spur and Upper North Prong, and then Haynes Ridge.

So, when you get up on top of Haynes Ridge, you're actually up on top of what we call the Caprock.

- HIKER: We did it!

Woo!

- You're actually on a small portion of the High Plains of Texas right there.

[hikers chattering] - Being at Honey Flats was fantastic.

Everybody has been super respectful of quiet hours, and of one another's spaces, so it's been a very pleasant experience.

[gentle music] [fire crackling] Wanting to be able to star gaze at night, and having an area where you can clearly see them, and where you can really point out the constellations, and kind of have a very at-home feel in somewhere that's so big.

[gentle music] - REBECCA: So, early in the mornings, you're going to see mostly the deer, whitetail, mule deers.

[prairie dogs chirping] The kiddos especially love the prairie dogs.

The fact that they pop up and bark at 'em, one of the things that the kids can't get over is how much they sound like a small dog.

[prairie dogs chirping] [upbeat guitar music] Most folks will make a large loop out of our trail system.

It's a lot of miles, which is perfect for the mountain bikers.

- I like the one on 217, that's right at the mouth.

- Yeah.

- That's, to me, that's the best view into the canyon.

- You have ledges, and steep climbs, and descent, and rocky rock garden areas that challenges you to keep the rubber side down.

[upbeat guitar music] - CHRIS: Beautiful.

The best all-around trail for a wide variety of people is probably gonna be the Eagle Point Trail.

Fast, it's flowy.

There are several little canyons you have to cross.

This is a great place to come to, to ride your bike, to hike.

[water trickling] [birds chirping] [gentle music] - REBECCA: On the Eagle Point Trail, it's a quarter mile from the north end of the trail, is the Natural Rock Bridge.

It's where the water has cut through that rock layer, and you can look right through it, and see out the other end.

This park, it still has that feel of nature, which, to me, is a great thing.

[gentle music] [water gurgling] [thunder booms] [lightning cracks] [wind blows] [rain spattering] - MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY: Water rarely comes peacefully to Texas.

[rain spattering] [thunder booms] Cold fronts from the north can collide violently with warm air and moisture from the Gulf.

[wind blows] [lightning cracks] Tropical jet streams from the west bring thunderstorms each summer, [thunder booms] while El Niño and other weather systems bring uncertainty from year to year.

[wind blows] Blue Northers blanket the state in winter... while summer highs soar over 100 degrees.

Droughts are a cyclical part of our weather system, as our floods.

[rapids raging] Nearly all of our rivers are born here and they journey to the Gulf of Mexico.

But much of the rainfall seeps into the earth into vast aquifers that cover 80% of the state.

[thunder roars] In the poorest limestone of the Hill Country, the Edwards Plateau soaks up moisture like a sponge.

[water drops] [water drops] [water drops] Below the surface, water and time have sculpted a landscape as magnificent as the one above.

[water drops] [water streams gently] This karst ecosystem is so vast and receives enough nutrients from the outside world that life has evolved in the absence of light.

[dramatic music] ♪ ♪ Inside this constant temperature climate, nature has selected for an imals who can conserve energy and who lose traits that are no longer necessary.

♪ ♪ This is an endangered Texas blind salamander.

♪ ♪ They hunt the darkness by sensing small disturbances in the water pressure.

♪ ♪ They breathe through their gills, which change in size depending on the available oxygen.

♪ ♪ In this world below our feet, familiar creatures have become nearly alien.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ A blind catfish.

♪ ♪ There are three species in Texas, and they have been found 2,000 feet below the surface.

♪ ♪ They are the size of your palm, and their metabolism is so slow, they can survive four years between meals.

♪ ♪ We know little about them, yet their habitat is the fo undation for our fresh water.

♪ ♪ When the aquifers are full, water bubbles to the surface through springs.

♪ ♪ [water bubbling] ♪ ♪ [water bubbling] ♪ ♪ As springs combine together, they create creeks.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ As the creeks converge, they form our Hill Country rivers.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ It's water from stone.

♪ ♪ [water quietly gurgling] In a select few rivers and creeks, the state fish of Texas hunts the rapids.

[soft sounds of crickets chirping] [water swooshing] [water quietly gurgling] The Guadalupe bass.

[water quietly gurgling] Each spring, the males begin pr eparations to attract a mate.

[upbeat whimsical music] Step one is finding a suitable location for a spawning bed.

♪ ♪ A gravel floor with surrounding protective structure is ideal.

♪ ♪ He must choose wisely for he won't leave the bed for over a month.

♪ ♪ Ah, perfect.

♪ ♪ The second step is to clean the gravel floor.

A difficult task with only fins, but a necessary one.

Females don't find dirt on the bed attractive.

♪ ♪ It's tidy, but is it enough to impress a mate?

♪ ♪ The females are searching for males that will give their eggs the best chance at survival.

They will be judged on their spawning beds.

♪ ♪ Gross!

Hey, don't mess with Texas!

♪ ♪ Getting better.

Yuck, hey, this ain't Oklahoma.

♪ ♪ Now we're talking.

♪ ♪ With up to 10,000 eggs to lay, finding the right partner is worth searching for.

♪ ♪ And sometimes, they've been preparing a bed just for you.

[serene music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ During this courtship dance, the female releases her eggs, which are fertilized by the male.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Exhausted, she has spent all her energy on reproduction.

But dad duty has just begun.

For a week straight, he aerates the eggs with his fins until one day... ♪ ♪ These baby bass have many predators, and he will continue to protect them for the next few weeks.

♪ ♪ Eventually, their responsibility passes on to us to ensure that our rivers stay healthy and the springs always flow, which is becoming increasingly difficult.

♪ ♪ The Texas Hill Country is developing faster than any other region.

[water sprinkling] Per capita, each of us uses 138 gallons of water each day.

♪ ♪ To meet this demand, we are ta king water out of the aquifers and pumping it to the surface.

♪ ♪ When we remove more water than rainfall can refill, the water table falls and the springs go dry.

♪ ♪ During the last century, one half of the major springs in Texas have stopped flowing because the aquifer was over pumped.

♪ ♪ Our rivers and wildlife depend on these springs... as do we.

[gentle music] The people of Austin and San Antonio have taken action.

When water protection efforts were placed on city elections, citizens voted overwhelmingly in support.

They voted to invest in water rights, establish parks, and fund conservation easements.

They have conserved over 200,000 acres of their watersheds... because the future health of the land is tied to our own.

[wind blows, birds chirping] [wind blows, birds chirping] [insects, birds chirping] [insects, birds chirping] [insects, birds chirping] [insects, birds chirping] [insects, birds chirping] [insects, birds chirping] [insects, birds chirping] [insects, birds chirping] [insects, birds chirping] [wind blows] This series is supported in part by Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation -- conserving the wild things and wild places of Texas, thanks to members across the state.

Additional funding is provided by Toyota.

Your local Toyota dealers are proud to support outdoor recreation and conservation in Texas.

Toyota -- Let's Go Places.