Oct. 26, 2009

First Toyota ShareLunker Is Early Arrival

ATHENS, Texas — The first Toyota ShareLunker of the season slipped in the back door of the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center (TFFC) on September 28.

Oct. 22, 2009

Texas Parks & Wildlife Seeks Partners To Co-Market Life’s Better Outside® Campaign

(AUSTIN) TX -Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is seeking additional partners for its 2010 Life’s Better Outside® cause-related marketing initiative with retailers, healthcare and education partners to reconnect children to the world of nature and the outdoors. TPWD is setting planning meetings with interested parties between now and Nov. 30.

Oct. 20, 2009

Fish Kill Investigated on Fairfield Lake

FAIRFIELD, Texas — September means at least two unpleasant annual natural phenomena in East Texas: ragweed is blooming and fish are dying at Lake Fairfield. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Inland Fisheries management and Kills and Spills Team (KAST) biologists investigated a major fish kill on Fairfield Lake the second week of September.

Oct. 16, 2009

World Birding Center Receives SATW’s Phoenix Award

AUSTIN, Texas — The World Birding Center, a network of nine Rio Grande Valley parks and nature centers dedicated to avian conservation and education, has won national recognition from the Society of American Travel Writers for promoting eco-friendly travel.

Texas Parks Make Finding Halloween Fun Easy

AUSTIN, Texas — No matter where you are in Texas, more than a dozen nearby state parks and fisheries centers have a variety of family-themed Halloween activities and attractions to offer.

Oct. 14, 2009

Big Sam at Risk

ATHENS, Texas — Over 100 acres of giant salvinia was found in the Angelina River north of Sam Rayburn Reservoir on Tuesday, October 13, 2009. Acting with the help of a waterfowl hunter, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) personnel investigated and identified the plants in a backwater area called Estes Lake approximately 10 miles upstream from Marion Ferry and Kingtown, in Nacogdoches County. An annual vegetation survey conducted by airplane last month did not detect the infestation since the survey does not include the Angelina River above Kingtown. The infestation had apparently been contained by shallow water and dense brush perhaps for a year or more. Low water levels help contain the infestation but recent rains may force the infestation south towards the main portion of the reservoir. Additional surveys are being conducted to define the southern extent of the infestation and determine if the infestation has reached the river channel.

Oct. 12, 2009

Is There a Lunker Lurking in Your Attic?

ATHENS, Texas — The first photograph was taken 170 years ago, so you’d think that everyone who ever caught a largemouth bass weighing 13 pounds or more would have been photographed proudly holding it.

Oct. 9, 2009

Whooper Boosters Hope For A Better Winter

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas’ most famous endangered bird is on its way back to its winter home, and supporters everywhere are hoping it’s a better year for the whooping crane. Federal biologists report that whooping cranes have begun their fall migration from Canada, with arrivals on the central Texas coast anticipated within the next couple of weeks.

Coalition Protects Habitat, Releases Captive-reared Houston Toads

AUSTIN, Texas — Recent rains in Central Texas not only watered residential lawns and filled ranch cattle tanks, but also brought much needed relief to one of the most imperiled species in Texas — the endangered and elusive Houston toad, Bufo houstonensis. Ironically named the Houston toad, it disappeared from Harris County by the 1970’s. Historic prolonged droughts combined with rapid urbanization and habitat loss are the primary reasons for the toad’s decline.

TPWD Seeking Redesign Bids For Galveston Island State Park

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is seeking a top-notch architectural/design firm to come up with a state-of-the-art, sustainable design for rebuilding hurricane-ravaged Galveston Island State Park.