Ben Masters’ latest documentary focuses on Texas rivers and the wildlife they support. Photo courtesy Fin & Fur Films

If you’ve paddled the Devils River or leaped off a rope swing into the Frio, you know that springs, creeks and rivers make Texas special.

The newest documentary from Texas filmmaker Ben Masters, “Deep in the Heart 2: Texas Rivers,” focuses on the state’s water, and the challenges the water supply faces as the population swells.

The film is a follow-up to Masters’ 2022 documentary, “Deep in the Heart: A Texas Wildlife Story.” That film, narrated by Matthew McConaughey, celebrated wildlife and landscapes of the Lone Star State. This one turns to our rivers, from the rugged Rio Grande to the Sabine and Neches, and the wildlife they support.

Texas actor Ethan Hawke narrates the latest film. To create it, the Fin & Fur Films  team from spent months filming mountain lions on the Pecos, snapping turtles on the Neches, otters on the Sabine, fatmuckets on the Llano, and whooping cranes in the estuary of the Guadalupe.

Masters says most of his favorite memories are tied to Texas rivers.

“I grew up on the Canadian, fell in love on the Brazos, got married on the Guadalupe, found adventure on the Rio Grande, and am raising my kids on the Colorado,” he said in a press release. “Spending three years in cinematography gave me a newfound appreciation for how special and unique our rivers are.”

Masters’ previous credits include “Unbranded,” “The River and the Wall,” and “The American Southwest.”

The film will screen in theaters starting Sept. 25.

A javelina looks over an area where bulldozers have begun clearing land at Bend National Park. Photo by Natalie Newman

One of my longtime journalism sources, former Big Bend Superintendent Bob Krumenaker, sent out more information about what’s happening at Big Bend National Park.

Contractors broke ground on Wednesday, but Customs and Border Protection still won’t say exactly what they’re doing, instead claiming they are “in the initial stages of planning and design.”

Krumenaker, now chairman of Keep Big Bend Wild, says bulldozers are clearing a right of way for a new road, likely a “patrol road.” The road is adjacent to the existing paved road from the Santa Elena boat ramp, heading east.

Bulldozers began clearing land near Santa Elena Canyon at Bend National Park this week. Photo by Natalie Newman

“The road is heading in the direction of the popular Cottonwood Campground and the Castolon Historic District,” the press release says. “The consequences for Cottonwood Campground are unknown, but likely devastating.”

He also points out that the route is in the Rio Grande floodplain, and subject to damaging flooding. It also goes through designated critical habitat for the Yellow-billed Cuckoo. (The Secretary of Homeland Security has waived the Endangered Species Act for the project.) And no word on the impacts to the Castolon Historic District.

Crews are clearing land near Santa Elena Canyon at Bend National Park this week. Photo by Natalie Newman