- NARRATOR: 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 provided by the Toyota Tundra.

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

Adventure-- it's what we share.

Funding also provided by Academy Sports and Outdoors.

Helping hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts of all ages get outside.

Out here, fun can't lose.

[theme music] - ANNOUNCER: Coming up on Texas Parks & Wildlife... - The beach has always been the place that I go to feel calm and peaceful and joyful.

- There's nothing quite as striking as Century Pine.

It's well over 120 feet and it usually takes three adults to hug around it.

- Bracken Cave is the largest single concentration of mammals on Earth.

[theme music] - ANNOUNCER: Texas Parks & Wildlife , a television series for all outdoors.

♪ ♪ [waves crashing, boat engine revs] [birds chirping] [water splashing] [birds chirping] - ALIA: This is definitely my happy place.

The beach has always been the place I go to to feel calm and peaceful and joyful.

And I think we're passing on that tradition to our kids, too, every time we come to South Padre Island.

It's really awesome because Padre has miles and miles of beaches.

The kids love to boogie board.

Sometimes we love to walk up and down the beach for a really long time.

They love digging in the sand.

They just have a lot of activities.

They have the best time.

[kids yelling] And we've got a really fun day planned.

First, we're going to go out on a boat and we're gonna go snorkeling and a shell beach later today.

The kids are very excited to go.

[waves crashing] We come here with our family and my sister's family, and it's a tradition that we do every year, and it's just really fun for the kids.

It's a nice familiar vacation spot that we love to come to every summer.

Ready to get on the boat?

- KID: Oh, yeah!

- Hey, guys, welcome aboard.

My name's Chris, I'll be your captain.

This is my first mate, Anthony.

We'll be taking you out on today's adventure.

Welcome aboard, guys.

- ALIA: We're also trying snorkeling this year, which the kids have never done, and they're very excited about.

[flippers tapping] - Who's excited to get in?

- I am!

- Yay!

- All right, let's go.

[upbeat music] - Diver down.

[upbeat music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - I saw a fish down there.

[upbeat music] ♪ ♪ - I love getting out there with the kids, giving them new experiences, seeing their eyes just light up with all that enjoyment.

That was fun.

[birds squawking] [water lapping] This afternoon, we're going to go up to Seashell Beach.

It's on the north side of South Padre and we're going to go pick out some seashells, let the kids find their favorites.

- KID: Let's go!

- VICTOR: I'm excited about that.

Traveling, for us, it means bonding, getting the kids together with you and letting them experience time away from normal life, a little bit out of their comfort zone, and just let them see it.

- Wait, doesn't this sound like the ocean?

Here.

- Wow, that's good!

- Yeah!

- I hear it!

[waves crashing] [feet pattering] Wait for me!

- ALIA: My sister and I were both raised with the idea that just family is everything, and so every summer to come to the beach and spend this time together as a family, it's just really, really special time for us and we look forward to it every year.

- Wow!

- The sunset, it's pretty!

- Yeah.

Look at the beach!

- That's great.

- That's great, that's great.

[gentle music] - What a beautiful day.

Coming to an end.

- BOY: I love days like these.

- SABIA: Me too.

- ALIA: A great day, guys.

- SABIA: It was a beautiful day.

[waves crashing] [birds chirping] [upbeat music] - NARRATOR: With pine savannahs, upland forest and hardwood bottomlands, Mission Tejas State Park is an untouched window into the natural scenery of Texas' past.

[frogs croaking] Near the northern end of the Davy Crockett National Forest, quiet Mission Tejas once sat at a crossroads of early Texas history.

Visitors can step back in time along a portion of El Camino Real de los Tejas.

[upbeat music] - El Camino Real was a big network of a number of old Caddo footpaths and footpaths from other indigenous groups in Texas.

- When you walk down that, you'll be walking in the footsteps of virtually just about anybody in your Texas history textbook.

- KATY: The best part, I think, is just being in the forest, and it's just, it's beautiful here.

You don't get to see the woods like this.

The highlight so far is we went down, and we did the Woodlands Trail.

And that takes you through just a really quiet piece of woods with these huge pines, and you can smell the pines as well.

Not too far from that is the creek.

Oh man, do you see that tree over there?

It's leanin'.

- MAN: That's a very straight tree right there.

- NARRATOR: A structure commemorating Mission San Francisco de los Tejas was built by the CCC in 1934.

The original mission was built by Spaniards on Caddo land in response to French colonists settling on the Texas coast in 1685.

Spanish Friars tried to rebuild the mission in 1716, but conflict between France and Spain led them to abandon it a few years later.

Also in the park is one of the oldest structures in the surrounding area.

- The Rice family built this home between 1828 and 1838, and Jonathan Masters was one of the first land-grant holders in this area.

They've been part of Texas before Texas was part of Mexico.

[dramatic music] - NARRATOR: The Towering Pines hold their own deep-rooted history at the park as well.

- JARED: One of my favorite aspects of Mission Tejas State Park is the average age of the trees.

There's nothing quite as striking as Century pine.

It's well over 120 feet, and it usually takes three adults to hug around it.

- Cool place to set your camera up against the trunk and shoot straight up the trunk.

It makes for a very striking photograph, and it's really thought provoking that that thing's been there for 114 years.

[upbeat music] - CHILD: I can't open.

- You need help?

Say, "Can I have help, please?"

- CHILD: I have help, please?

- We've been wanting to see some of the East Texas state parks.

We're probably gonna color, and just kind of hang out.

We're gonna go to the playground here at the park.

That's really exciting for her.

She loves to swing.

Just some decompression time.

So we both work a lot and this is nice to get away.

- GARY: Well, we hope people can connect with the world in which you live, the history that we all share and get some good rest and relaxation.

- NARRATOR: Whether you need a relaxing getaway or want a deeper understanding of an area steeped in Texas history, Mission Tejas State Park will have just what you need.

[crickets chirping] [insects and bats chirp] [insects and bats chirp] [upbeat music] - Bracken Cave is the largest single concentration of mammals on earth.

[bats chirp] - If you wanna know what a little angel is, Mexican free-tailed bats, they can see in the dark, they can find their own baby out of 10 million babies up in a dome.

If that ain't a miracle.

It's like winning the lottery every night, 'cause mama comes home to you, hanging up there on that ceiling, in the pitch black.

[upbeat music] - From March to October, bats are gonna eat tons of bugs.

Those are primary agricultural pests in the area.

So, you got cotton bowl moth, or corn earworm moth.

Because of that, farmers, one, don't have crop damage, two, don't have to spray a lot of pesticides on their crops to kill those bugs.

[engine hums] - They're about to come.

- Yep.

[bats chirp] - You sit there with your mouth hanging open.

Those bats eat the volume of two 747 jet airliners every night.

So, think of the ecology, and how wonderful.

All he wants to do is live in the ground, be left alone, and eat our insect population for us.

[upbeat music] ♪ ♪ - JEFF: But in the early 2000s, a very large property that surrounded the property that Bat Conservation International owned was purchased by a large development company.

[hawk screeches] - FRANK: So, development was encroaching on all that, and you had streetlights that were gonna be within 100 yards of the cave, and that would screw up the bats being able to navigate.

[gentle music] - And this was the last piece of property that was supposed to be developed.

They were gonna put 3,600 homes on 1,500 acres.

- Bat Conservation International and the Nature Conservancy recognized that this was really an existential threat to the long-term viability of Bracken Cave.

- KAREN: Bats were gonna be falling on people's patios, and the bats we're gonna lose.

[uplifting music] - Finally, we were able to get traction with the landowner, with the City of San Antonio, and a partnership with Bat Conservation International to raise private dollars to help acquire what we call the Galo property, which is now divided between Bat Conservation International and the Nature Conservancy.

- We were working with our partner, Bat Conservation International, but we had to raise $10 million, and it took us a long time to do that.

He said, "I'm gonna help you with that bat cave."

And I cried.

[chuckles] Then, we named the preserve after him, and it's known as Frank Klein Cibolo Bluffs Preserve.

[dramatic music] ♪ ♪ - And so, here's an opportunity to protect recharge zones into the Edwards Aquifer to ensure that the quality of water going into that [thunder rumbles] was gonna be forever protected.

[rainfall pattering] ♪ ♪ - We're on the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer, so if we have pristine land on top, you'll have pristine water underneath.

And that's the game plan, kids.

If you don't have water, you got nothing.

[birds chirp] - So, we did a lot of work on the golden-cheeked warbler, which is the only bird that nests exclusively in Texas.

It nests in the Texas hill country in the oak juniper woodlands.

- FRANK: If you let things grow, and you keep things in balance, if you build it, they will come.

And it's just amazing.

[chainsaw whirs] - JEFF: The amount of development is expanding.

The issue in the hill country is that our riparian systems are extremely vulnerable to degradation.

We all need some place to live.

Development is necessary, development is important.

But at the same time, preserving something is also important.

♪ ♪ - FRANK: So, it's been quite the journey, and little angels, like the Mexican free-tailed bats, have been a big part of it.

Go to Bracken Bat Cave and watch that miracle.

You'll be a different person.

♪ ♪ [bat wings fluttering] - I'm Morgan O'Hanlon, a Senior Staff Writer at "Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine".

- And I'm David Yoskowitz, Executive Director Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

♪ Better outside ♪ - MORGAN: Together, we're bringing you a new show about how life's better outside and the people who work every day to make outside better.

♪ Better outside ♪ In each episode, we'll take you into the great outdoors.

- This will be good.

- MORGAN: Whether we're out counting sheep.

- Gotcha.

- Good shot.

- MORGAN: On the hunt for invasive species or just taking a trip down the river, you'll learn something new about conservation in the Lone Star State.

♪ Better outside ♪ So are you ready to go outside?

♪ Better outside ♪ [upbeat rock music] [slow dramatic music] - NARRATOR: Along the edge of the Texas Panhandle, you'll find the Matador Wildlife Management Area, a colorful land of rolling plains and canyons spanning over 28,000 acres.

[slow dramatic music] The beauty and balance of this natural landscape is maintained by the regular use of an ancient tool.

[crackling] Fire.

[crackling] [slow dramatic music] [engine starting] On this spring morning, a crew of wildland fire specialists huddles for their 8:00 a.m.

meeting.

- Derek Malone.

Derek, you got lined out on how to operate everything on that piece of equipment?

[laughing] All right.

- Yes, sir.

[laughing] - I mean, if you don't know something, ask.

It's our job to make sure we communicate the information to you, but it's your job to make sure you understand it.

- NARRATOR: All joking aside, these fire veterans along with a few new recruits are about to conduct some serious business.

[clanging] Today's job is a prescribed burn.

- Right now they're preparing to light a test fire.

[crackling] It gives us a pretty good indication of what the fire behavior is going to be like.

[crackling] - It's going to burn slow.

- CHRIS: Since it's a test, if it doesn't work out, we can put the fire out and go for it another day.

- NARRATOR: Prescribed fire mimics the wildfires that shaped and sustained this landscape over thousands of years.

Fire is a natural process that has occurred forever out here.

Whenever you don't have fire, brush encroaches.

The more brush there is, the higher the fire danger is going to be during a dry year, [sirens wailing] so the more fire you put on the ground, the less the effects of a wildfire will be and the more controllable it will be.

[crackling] - NARRATOR: But prescribed fire isn't just for controlling wildfires.

Fire knocks back invasive plants and returns nutrients to the soil.

This promotes native species and helps create a balance of cover and forage for wildlife.

[turkeys gobble] - All right, guys.

We're going to go ahead and send one toward John.

- NARRATOR: For burns as big as this one, the department assembles a large crew to complete the work.

[fast drum beats] The person in charge of the fire is called the burn boss.

- [on radio] Burn boss one.

- Go ahead.

- NARRATOR: They oversee all personnel on the fire.

- [on radio] All right, copy that.

- NARRATOR: Next come the engine bosses.

- Squad one.

- NARRATOR: Who drive the fire trucks and direct crews.

Anybody in charge of the firing operation that actually lights the fires, they're called the firing boss.

[crackling and scraping] Five to seven person hand crews do the mop up work once the fire burns through.

[revving] Squad bosses are in charge of the UTVs with sprayers.

[spraying and hissing] Then there's the entry level firefighter.

They do all the grunt work and make everyone else look good.

[energetic music] ♪ ♪ - [on radio] All units stand by for 11:00 weather.

Temperature is 64 degrees.

Relative humidity is 41%, down 11.

Ability to ignition is 30%, up 10.

- Right there that tells us about the humidity dropping and things kind of improving, well this fire activity is going to increase a little bit.

It's going to move a little bit better.

- We started out this morning with one-foot flame lengths.

Now we're looking at two to three-foot flame lengths and a little bit more fire behavior.

The fire is gaining and moving.

Warmer temperatures, warmer fuels.

The sun does that job.

A little bit more wind, it helps spread the fire.

[man talking over radio] - FIREFIGHTER: Just start dripping it along the road there.

- On the inside or from the road?

- MAN: Yep, just right there.

- NARRATOR: Along with the natural benefits of the work, these burns also help foster the next generation of fire professionals.

[crackling] - That stuff lights up real quick.

Those fires.

Hot.

[crackling] - Everybody's working together as a team.

I find that really awesome.

Everybody's calling things over the radio and you got lookouts, people with the drip torches setting stuff on fire, people making sure there's no spot fires.

[squeaking] It's making me want to pursue it more as a career every second I'm here.

- FIREFIGHTER: Let's take it over here, right here.

We'll light it.

- It's been a real treat, a really good experience.

Some of these guys have been doing this longer than I've been alive, which is just kind of hard to believe.

I'm feeling tired, like I'm going to need a few days' rest before I think about coming out here again.

[upbeat music] [indistinct chatter] - When the humidity is a little higher and the fire's good, everybody works well together.

- DERRICK: Prescribed fire is a great habitat management tool.

Every time we do a fire, I feel like we're taking a big chunk out of our management of that area.

[crackling] Then when you come back three months later and you have all this tall grass and you have all the wildflowers out there, it just kind of brings it all together and you realize what you've accomplished.

[dramatic music] - NARRATOR: Next time on Texas Parks & Wildlife... - When deer season hits, it's good for all the local businesses.

I mean everybody.

- We're on our evening hunt on opening day.

Opening day is always my favorite, just the rush, getting ready.

- Deer hunting is part of our culture number one, and number two it's part of our economy.

- Got your receipt and your hunting license, thank you very much.

[theme music] - NARRATOR: That's next time on Texas Parks & Wildlife.

[wind blowing] [vultures chirping] [wind blowing] [wind blowing] [vultures chirping] [wind blowing] [wind blowing] [wind blowing] [thunder cracks and rumbles] [wind blowing] [trees creaking] [thunder rumbles] [trees creaking] [thunder rumbles] [wings flapping] [thunder rumbles] - NARRATOR: 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 provided by the Toyota Tundra.

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

Adventure-- it's what we share.

Funding also provided by Academy Sports and Outdoors.

Helping hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts of all ages get outside.

Out here, fun can't lose.