SPORTS
OUTDOORS: State funds to stop invasives
Record-funding approved by the Texas Legislature will help the state in the war on aquatic invasive species.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is ramping up efforts to control and stop the spread of invasive plants and creatures.
Examples of invasive creatures are giant salvinia and zebra mussels covering Texas lakes, giant reed and saltcedar smothering rivers and streams and exotic fish that are altering Texas’ ecosystem.
Silver carp and bighead carp also are threats, recently entering Texas in parts of the Red River and a few other locations in primarily northeast Texas.
“It’s a huge challenge to address these problems all across our state, and no one organization can do it alone – the scale of the problem is just staggering,” Tim Birdsong, from TPWD’s Inland Fisheries Division, said.
Birdsong said the state will expand education efforts, and the TPWD needs the help of boaters, riverside landowners, river authorities, water management districts and other partners.
The annual economic impact of aquatic invasive species is estimated at more than $140 billion nationally, and globally the impact is at more than $4 trillion.
The most troublesome aquatic invasive species are giant salvinia, water hyacinth, saltcedar, giant reed and zebra mussels.
Water hyacinth consumes 13 times more water than native aquatic plants, which contributes water supply concerns. Read more in the March 30 Bowie News.
Zebra mussels are increasingly becoming a problem in Texas. (Courtesy photo from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department)
Bowie had six players play in the Maskat Shrine Oil Bowl football all-star game. For pictures from not just the football game, but the basketball and volleyball games as well that feature athletes from Bowie, Nocona and Saint Jo, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6875584&T=1
Nocona is welcoming back Coach Sandy Langford, former coach and alumnus for the Lady Indians, as its new volleyball head coach.
Langford comes back to Nocona after spending the past 11 years leading the Glen Rose volleyball program.
Her circumstances with her family allowed her to jump at the opportunity once she became aware the position at Nocona was available.
“My youngest graduated and is playing football at Midwestern (State University),” Langford said. “All of our family is here and I knew that Coach Kara (Lucherk) was leaving. We were eventually going to retire here. Our oldest son plays college football at West Texas A&M and we’ll be two hours closer to him as well.”
She again will lead the Lady Indians volleyball program, one that she led all the way to the state title game in 2011, which is the farthest the volleyball program has ever gone in its prestigious history.
Langford kept up that level of success during her 11 years at the bigger 4A Glen Rose. She won less than 20 games only twice during her time, winning her 500th career game back in 2023. Her teams were ranked among the top 10 in the state five times and Langford led Glen Rose to the state tournament in 2017, the best finish in program history.
With the Lady Indians also having its own string of success, appearing in back-to-back regional finals while finishing atop the district standings both years, Langford is excited to not just keep the success going, but shoot for the stars.
“We are not expecting anything less than a state championship,” Langford said.
She has stacked the non-district schedule with strong, state-ranked 3A and 4A teams as well as big tournaments that will test Nocona’s mettle early next season in the hopes it will prepare them for a long playoff run.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
The Red River High School Bass Club competed this past weekend, May 31 – June 1, at the State Tournament on Lake Conroe for the two-day tournament.
Two of the teams from Montague County traveled south to try their best at the culmination of the year for the state title. Teams were able to pre-fish on Friday before the Saturday and Sunday competition. On Friday, there was a flipping contest for the youth and Cooper Johnson won third overall and won a $500 scholarship and an Academy gift card.
The club’s two teams who competed were Lane Smith/Colt Henry with boat captain Jimmy Smith. The team placed 63rd with a total of 16.22 pounds. The second team of Cooper Johnson/Corbyn Patton and boat captain Jayson Toerck placed 169th with a total weight of 2.29 pounds.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
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