South Texas Outdoors magazine on the stands

Life along the border for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game wardens is sometimes marred by the threat of smugglers of drugs and people related to the violent cartel drug war playing out in Mexico.

In the article, “Dangerous Game,” game warden Jarret Barker explains how he and his colleagues are both protectors of natural resources and protectors of human life.

Barker’s story is one of many articles featured in the newest edition of South Texas Outdoors, a free quarterly magazine available at outlets throughout the Rio Grande Valley.

The publication hosts articles focused on fishing, boating, hunting, birdwatching and conservation in the Valley.

The article “When Less Means More” explains how speckled trout catch reductions have helped reverse the decline of the fish species.

In an interview titled “Big Year, Big Valley,” birders Mark Obmasik and Greg Miller explain how South Texas’ natural habitat must be guarded. Obmasik is the author of the book, “The Big Year,” which inspired a recent movie released under the same title. Miller is the inspiration for actor Jack Black’s character in the film.

“Young Guns” highlights the Texas Youth Hunt program, which offers lessons for families in the field.

In “Eye for the Wild,” Seth Patterson introduces readers to Meet Your Neighbors, a global project with the goal of completing a photographic census of wildlife.

Other news and information, including staff and reader-submitted photography, round out the magazine.

The issue is the fourth for the quarterly glossy magazine, which launched this past spring as a product of Valley Freedom Newspapers.

Readers may follow South Texas Outdoors online via the magazine’s web site, SouthTexasOutdoors.com, and through social media at Facebook.com/South TexasOutdoors.