Episodes

  • S2T: Watersheds: Season Two Trailer

    S2T: Watersheds: Season Two Trailer
    Mar 3 2023
    In season two, we have a new series--Watersheds--devoted entirely to exploring the master variable for coastal ecosystems: freshwater inflow. New episodes out monthly, starting in mid-March!
    Show More Show Less
    3 mins
  • S2E7: Watersheds: The Dying Fields

    S2E7: Watersheds: The Dying Fields
    Sep 20 2023
    Written and Produced by Alyssa Lucas. In today's episode, we discuss the overlooked ecosystem of seagrass beds and their importance to the coast. You'll hear about how these grasses have been depleted and restored along with how freshwater inflow comes into play.
    Show More Show Less
    19 mins
  • S2E6: Writing an Ending to the Baffin Bay Story

    S2E6: Writing an Ending to the Baffin Bay Story
    Aug 25 2023
    In today's episode, we dive into current restoration efforts for Baffin Bay, Texas. You'll hear more about the work being done to fix the bay's water quality issues as well as restore Baffin's unique serpulid worm reefs. Worms!
    Show More Show Less
    22 mins
  • S2E5: Watershed Citizenship in Baffin Bay, Texas

    S2E5: Watershed Citizenship in Baffin Bay, Texas
    Aug 1 2023
    This is Part Two of our look into Baffin Bay water quality. As we learned last time, this Texas bay is known for its trophy trout, but many of the longtime anglers and guides had witnessed the decline of the bay over the last few decades. In Baffin, poor water quality affected seagrasses, shrimp and crabs, and of course those gigantic seatrout. What’s even more interesting was that one of the longtime fisherman, Scott Murray, became determined to do something about it. So we’re going to hear more about the citizen science project they created and the scientific discoveries they found. These citizen scientists are a great example of watershed citizenship.
    Show More Show Less
    25 mins
  • S2E4: Something Amiss in Baffin Bay, Texas

    S2E4: Something Amiss in Baffin Bay, Texas
    Jul 3 2023
    In this episode, we're traveling down the coast to Baffin Bay, Texas, and hearing about the lived experiences of trophy trout anglers from the Baffin Bay Oral History Project. This fishing community bears witness to a fishery that has declined over many years. But their special ties to the bay, as we’ll see, prompted many to get involved in restoration efforts.
    Show More Show Less
    22 mins
  • S2E3: Whooping Cranes Go To Court

    S2E3: Whooping Cranes Go To Court
    May 28 2023
    Today on The Gulf Podcast, whooping cranes go to court! We live on the coast so we are downstream from everything. That also means that we’re downstream from many of the water management decisions that affect us. These decisions can impact everyone who relies on estuaries and freshwater inflow, including whooping cranes. And in times of drought, things can get bad. In this episode, we’re going to dive into a court case that’s about a decade old called The Aransas Project v. Bryan Shaw, et al. It’s an interesting case that connected water and whooping crane populations—and showed how many people on the coast stepped up to help the cranes.
    Show More Show Less
    27 mins
  • S2E2: The Long Flight Back

    S2E2: The Long Flight Back
    May 8 2023
    On this episode of The Gulf Podcast, I've enlisted Dr. Dale Gawlik, Endowed Chair for Conservation and Biodiversity at the Harte Research Institute, so we can learn more about one of North America's largest and rarest birds, the whooping crane. These unique and beautiful birds spend the winter in the bays and estuaries of the mid-Texas Coast and rely on fresh water coming to the coast.
    Show More Show Less
    15 mins
  • S2E1: A Watershed Moment

    S2E1: A Watershed Moment
    Apr 1 2023
    In the first episode of the new season, I'll explain why Texas is currently in a watershed moment for reexamining coastal water issues. The episode gives a brief overview of Texas water policy and science and provides background for the rest of the "Watersheds" series. Our guide in this episode is Dr. Paul Montagna, Chair for HydroEcology at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies. Paul has spent his career working on coastal issues and is currently finishing a new book entitled Freshwater Inflow to Texas Bays and Estuaries.
    Show More Show Less
    27 mins