- 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... - My great hope is that people will become more aware of this particular species and be grateful for the fact that we have them here in Texas.

- If you love trees, this is the place.

It's the land of the oaks.

- What this will do is allow those fish to grow up a little bit more and reproduce in this pond, potentially reach maybe even state record size.

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

♪ ♪ [acoustic guitar music] - So what we're gonna do, we'll probably try to get the easiest ones first.

- NARRATOR: Underneath all this mud... - BRETT: Try to get it pried up with these bars so you don't get bit.

- NARRATOR: ...there are some ancient wonders about to be set free.

They just don't know it yet.

- So they burrow up in the mud.

They're real camouflaged, and you have to probe for them and find them.

And you gotta make sure you grab the right end.

- I got him.

- NARRATOR: These muddy ponds have been a temporary refuge for some rare alligator snapping turtles.

And they are about to be released back into the wild.

- Thing about wildlife is when you're trying something like this, they don't know that they're going to a better place.

- NARRATOR: All these turtles are on their way back to Texas, thanks to some serious detective work.

- They are escape artists.

- Yeah, they are.

- Federal and state law enforcement agencies worked together to bust a Louisiana poaching operation.

- We discovered a market in Sulfur, Louisiana.

There was a lady and her sons that were poaching alligator snapping turtles in Texas and then selling them out of their residence in Louisiana.

- Call of the wild, we're gonna release this turtle.

I mean, we're gonna catch this turtle.

[laughing] That's a big turtle.

[phone rings] - JIM: So we made a buy in the parking lot and once we had made that buy, we had probable cause to show that these individuals were carrying on a commercial enterprise out of their residence in Louisiana.

- POACHER: Look, there he goes.

- JIM: So I figured that we would find some but I had no idea that we would find 30.

It took three days of running nets on those ponds day in and day out.

It was a good feeling.

[upbeat music] - Alligator snapping turtles historically have been under tremendous pressure from basically people wanting to eat them.

They've been harvested in massive quantities historically across the Southeastern United States.

In the mid 1970s, recognizing that, the Texas Parks and Wildlife protected the species, they banned the personal and commercial use of that species for any reason at all.

Example in Louisiana, still today, you can take one per person per day and consume it.

In Texas, you've not been able to, you know collect any for what, like four years.

- BRETT: They're very prehistoric.

You can just tell by looking at 'em they've got a lot of armor on 'em like dinosaurs.

It's been around a long time and we don't want to be the reason that they're gone.

- BIOLOGIST: So we're just working it up.

- PAUL: We're able to get some genetic samples from across the range.

- BIOLOGIST: 50 even.

- PAUL: Through a population genetics analysis.

- BIOLOGIST: 20 point 30.

- PAUL: Especially putting these guys back in their drainages from where they came from.

Oh, it's a big one.

Look at the size of it.

- NARRATOR: This is a mature female.

- You ready?

- I'm ready.

- NARRATOR: She's labeled as Sabine River turtle number one.

- JOE: Oh yeah.

- This is a strong turtle.

It's a strong turtle.

- All right, thank you, girl.

Eyes are good.

I'd say five.

- We try and go from one to nine and five is right where we ought be so big and strong, and amazing.

- Lovely.

- NARRATOR: The team works through the night.

- That's six, right Connor?

- Yeah, I'm gonna give a little rinse first real quick.

- Behind you, man.

- NARRATOR: It's finally time to take them back home.

- Well, that one looks good, really good.

Can't wait to see this one get kick loose.

This is all coming together.

We're just about to head out.

We got the last turtle all loaded up.

Awesome man.

So super excited to get these guys back to where they belong.

So we've got three release sites across the state that we're going to.

We're gonna go then to a habitat that we've scoped out.

We've trapped.

We've evaluated.

- Good.

- NARRATOR: Connor Adams is in charge of evaluating this release site.

He's using hoop net traps to see if there are actually any alligator snapping turtles here.

- There's lots of good habitats, but we try to set these traps in places where we think alligator snapping turtles are gonna be setting up shop.

[water splashing] We're looking for places that are like have deep holes or that have a lot of structure under the water.

- Oh yeah.

This is a Razorback musk turtle, Sternotherus Carinatus.

So if you look, you can see how the shell comes up to a really sharp point.

Okay I'm gonna untie this.

- Okay.

- Nothing.

So alligator snapping turtles really like these types of environments, these old river channels and oxbows, slow-moving water bodies.

Checking this trap.

We've got a large turtle so we're gonna pull it out.

- Yeah.

- Oh and so we have a big alligator snapping turtle in this trap.

Oh it's a big one.

[grunting] She looks really, really healthy.

She's a large adult female.

This is max curve, right?

- Yeah.

- All the data that we collected on her... - 22.3.

- ...is gonna contribute to helping us understand how alligator snapping turtles are doing here.

Catching these really healthy large adult individuals is really confirming that we know that we're in good habitat.

Feels pretty good.

This site is looking like it could be a really really good release site for these alligator snapping turtles.

[engine revs] [sloshing] [dramatic music] - Think this one's ready to go.

She can smell freedom.

[inspirational music] Kind of hate to see her leave, but I'm happy to see her go.

- Oh yeah.

- My great hope is that, through this case, people will become more aware of this particular species and be grateful for the fact that we have 'em here in Texas.

It's truly a privilege to have these things in our waters.

I feel like this is gonna be a great home for 'em.

They're gonna do well here.

- So every turtle counts.

All right, time to set you free.

Very few make it to adulthood.

Those adults live a very long time and they reproduce for many years and basically help maintain a healthy population.

There goes the bubbles, she's booking it now.

So by returning these adults back to this population, we're improving the health of this population here and introducing more adult females.

- NARRATOR: And look who's here.

Sabine River turtle number one.

Remember her?

Well she's almost home.

- Come on.

- Kind of a long time in coming, being able to set 'em loose.

I feel great.

Wonderful feeling to see 'em walking out under their own power, to see 'em head into the water and not look back.

They're ready to go.

They're ready to be home.

They belong in Texas and we've done our part to, to get 'em back where they belong.

[crickets and birds chirp] - STEVE: We're at Cooper Lake State Park.

We're located in northeast Texas, only about an hour and 20 minutes from downtown Dallas.

Just an easy drive from the metroplex.

We have a 20,000-acre lake as a backdrop.

The land around the lake is all publicly owned, which means when you're out on the lake and you look back to the shore, you'll see a ring of green.

It takes you to a different place and a different time.

There's just so much to see and do here at Cooper Lake State Park.

[light music] - Woo woo!

♪ ♪ - WOMAN: Glad y'all are here today at Cooper Lake State Park.

Hey, we're gonna go on a hike down Coyote Run Trail.

[clicking] And we're gonna listen, because if you're quiet, you can see and hear the squirrels.

[clicking] - STEVE: If you love trees, this is the place.

It's the land of the oaks, with the predominant species being the Post Oak, these large, majestic shade trees that you'll find in our campground, in our day use areas, that just beckon visitors to relax underneath on a hot summer day.

[light music] Cooper Lake is blessed with two really nice swimming areas.

We have a swimming beach at the South Sulfur unit and also a swimming beach at the Doctor's Creek unit.

We have added white sand to both of these swimming areas.

It's just a great place for families to enjoy a summer afternoon swimming and the cool waters of the lake.

[light music] If you love being out on the water, we have kayaks for rent.

You can actually fish off our kayaks, or just cruise and enjoy the scenery.

The Corps of Engineers built and impounded this back in the early '90s.

And it has created one of the best blue catfish fisheries in the state.

- Headed into the timber right now to go look under some birds, see if there's any fish hanging around them.

Cooper Lake is primarily a shallow lake.

It's about divided halfway in timber and halfway open water.

Lots of white bass, crappie fishing is pretty decent.

Got a lot of good catfish in there.

There's the first blue cat today.

Best thing I like about this lake is low pressure, not crowded, never too many boats around.

Makes fishing peaceful, anyway.

- We've got a monster right there.

[Chris laughs] He's mad at me.

I must have poked him.

- He's talking to you.

Good job.

[splash] - STEVE: We have a wide variety of camping opportunities.

- MAN: Oh man, he's got a stick.

- STEVE: We have campsite on the water, cabins on the lake with the back decks overlooking the lake.

We have 30 amp and we have 50 amp RV hookups.

We have shelters.

We have something for everyone.

[chopping] - Tonight, we are doing bratwurst, and then we'll do some roasted vegetables.

I've got some potatoes in here.

- It's great for the family, and it's great, I think, for your personal health to get out of the city and get out here where you can relax and you know, be outside and enjoy nature and the fresh air and kind of slow down a little bit.

- They're nice, big spacious campsites and plenty of room, and we're here by the lake.

It's just beautiful.

- LEE: It's our way of changing pace for a little while.

And you kind of always go back a little refreshed and a little different perspective on life I think.

[light music] - STEVE: What I love about Cooper Lake State Park is the views.

It's the vista views over the lake.

It's the white tail deers that you see browsing on the forest edge.

It's the happy campers.

Just a short drive away from the city, and you can immerse yourself in nature.

It's a great place to recreate, relax, and recharge your soul.

[water lapping] [gentle music] - Today we are stocking some adult fish from our ShareLunker selected breeding program.

All right, woo!

These are offspring of some of our large 13 pound-plus bass that have been donated to the program.

[upbeat country music] We're actually able to stock those in a brewed pond.

There he goes.

What this will do is allow those fish to grow up a little bit more and reproduce in this pond, potentially reach maybe even state record size.

- NARRATOR: These bass and their future offspring will have plenty of room to grow, because in just a few years, all this will be underwater.

- I'm Dan Bennett.

I'm a district fisheries biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife.

We are on Bois D'Arc Lake, and actually sitting right on top of one of the original fruit ponds.

- NARRATOR: Only a few years before, this spot was a pond in a newly cleared patch of land, and Bennett was leading the effort to stock it with fish.

- DAN: It looks like some bigger fish down there in this little creek channel.

- NARRATOR: But the true purpose for this lake can be seen miles away, in the faucets of Dallas-Fort Worth and the surrounding communities.

- Our service area is 2.3 million people.

We have over 75,000 people moving into our service area every year.

- NARRATOR: Bois D'Arc Lake can supply 82 million gallons of water a day to homes and businesses in North Texas, even in times of drought.

- It was needed to supply enough water for the needs of everyone in the area.

It's actually been kind of neat being around the boat ramps.

We had interviewed a guy not long ago that we provide water to, and he didn't realize that a lot of the water he was getting in his house was actually coming from Bois D'Arc Lake.

- NARRATOR: And while Bois D'Arc is the first new reservoir in the state in 30 years, the second one is already under construction.

- DAN: We are on the future fishing jetty at Lake Ralph Hall.

- NARRATOR: Another reservoir Bennett is determined to make a trophy fishing destination.

- Oh, I'm just trying to picture where the, you know, ultimate water line's gonna be.

- NARRATOR: Just like Bois D'Arc Lake, structures beneath the surface will provide habitats and nutrients to this new lake once it's full.

- These are what you call reef balls.

So a small fish will be attracted to this, and they'll also be hiding in and outside of these holes.

That, in turn, will attract larger predator fish like crappie, bass, and catfish.

[gentle guitar music] They saved a bunch of logs from some of the reservoir clearing for us.

Standing timber provides a lot of structure that predator fish like bass kind of orient to.

Also, as the standing timber breaks down and decays, it releases a lot of nutrients into the water column.

It should be basically kind of a small little area with a lot of life.

- NARRATOR: Life that Bennett hopes will lead to great fishing at both reservoirs.

- DAN: Kinda looking out at the lake, thinking about what it will ultimately be, I could see 50 to a hundred years' worth of happy family memories and fishing trips, and how many kids are gonna ultimately be talking about their memories of fishing when they were a kid for, you know, the next few generations.

[gentle guitar music] [water rushing] [birds chirping] [upbeat music] - We are about 10 miles upstream of downtown Austin, standing next to Barton Creek in this beautiful forest, with fish in the creek and birds singing all around us.

But this area has a secret superpower, because it also helps improve our water quality and reduce flood risk, and that is an example of what we call nature-based solutions.

[upbeat music] - Pretty simply put, a nature-based solution is using nature to solve a problem.

And the result is you wind up helping people and the environment.

If we think about the Texas coast, increasingly they're looking towards a nature-based solution to buffer the constant wave energy.

Now also create habitat for oysters, for fish, improving recreational commercial fisheries.

If we think about the Hill Country area, Austin, San Antonio, there has been a considerate effort over the decades to preserve nearly 200,000 acres, to recharge the Edwards Aquifer.

This provides water supply for communities, in-stream flows for species of interest, recreation.

You have people enjoying themselves.

You have natural beauty.

And you have water that makes it possible for folks to live in that place.

In urban areas, you have issues with air quality.

Trees are a remarkable air filter.

The impact of green space on public health, both physical and mental, people are literally healthier in areas with more green space and more trees than they would otherwise be without them.

Also, in cities, you get a lot of impervious surfaces.

The Texas State Meteorologist estimates that flooding is gonna be 50% more frequent in our major cities in Texas.

So if we can incorporate green space and green infrastructure, you can slow that water down, you can store that water, you can get those additional benefits in those communities.

[gentle music] ♪ ♪ - One of the things that the Nature Conservancy and myself have been working with the Trust of Public Land is to make their parks more sustainable.

So we are integrating green storm water infrastructure to capture the water on site, get it to infiltrate, and have some plants reduce the pollution in these systems.

These rain gardens, we're trying to imitate these natural depressions in the landscape.

Like here we're in the Blackland Prairie, and these Blackland Prairie had prairie potholes, they call them.

Water would accumulate in them, and specific plants were able to grow in this system.

These are the native plants we use in our rain gardens to treat and clean the water and reduce the runoff.

With the Nature Conservancy and myself, we work on a large project with the City of Dallas where we modeled and we placed systems like that all around the city to see what would be the impact.

We saw that it would reduce the flooding from the typical two-year storm by around 50%, but it also reduced the hundred-year storm event by 20%.

Twenty percent flooding from 100-year storm is millions and millions of dollars.

In all these practices, we're trying to mimic nature to provide services to the urban environment.

[gentle music] - Albert Einstein's son studied the way water worked on the earth and moved through the land.

Now, Einstein, you know, we use that to talk about a genius, right?

And when asked about what his son did, he said, "He's working on a more difficult problem."

So this whole idea of understanding what water does, and what it's going to do, and how it's gonna move across the earth and create these problems for us, whether it's sedimentation or flooding or water quality, in a lot of ways, there's not gonna be a technological fix to it.

Or if there is, we can't afford it.

And so if you look to conservation, if you look towards recreating some green space, as opposed to having one space set aside for extra flood water, and here's where people live, and neither the two shall meet, creating those places throughout a community both makes that community more resilient, spreads out those multiple benefits you can get from nature-based solutions, and addresses the problem at a scale in which it needs to be addressed at.

[gentle music] - NARRATOR: Next time on Texas Parks & Wildlife... - The watershed protection plan is basically a guidebook for how to fix the bay.

- Palmetto State Park is a little piece of heaven here in central Texas.

- Working on keeping the bears wild.

Keeping them out of towns, keeping them out of trash, keeping them in their native range.

- NARRATOR: That's next time on Texas Parks & Wildlife.

[wind blowing] [indistinct chatter] [indistinct chatter] [indistinct chatter] [underwater bubbling] [underwater bubbling] [indistinct chatter] [indistinct chatter] [wind blowing] [indistinct chatter] [indistinct chatter] - 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.