TPWD: March 22, 2018 Commission Meeting Agenda

March 21-22, 2018, Commission Meeting Agenda

Work Session

Commission Agenda Items

January 24-25, 2018, Transcripts

Commission Agenda Item No. 3
Presenters: Alan Cain
Shawn Gray
Shaun Oldenburger
Ellis Powell

Action
2018-2019 Statewide Hunting, Migratory Game Bird, and
Furbearing Animal Proclamations
Recommended Adoption of Proposed Changes
March 22, 2018

I. Executive Summary: This item seeks adoption of proposed amendments to the Statewide Hunting, Migratory Game Bird, and Furbearing Animal Proclamations. The proposed amendments are listed below.

White-tailed Deer

Impose uniform statewide closing date for general season;
Clarify harvest regulations with respect to U.S. Forest Service lands.

Mule Deer

Implement a 9-day season (no archery season) in Lynn County;
Implement an experimental antler-restriction regulation in Briscoe, Childress, Cottle, Floyd, Hall, and Motley counties.

Lawful Means

Legalize air guns and air bows for the take of alligators, big game, non-migratory game birds, and furbearers;
Simplify archery equipment standards.

Squirrel, Pheasant, and Chachalaca

Expand possession limit to three times the daily bag limit.

Rio Grande Turkey

Adjust season dates to be concurrent with white-tailed deer seasons.

Eastern Turkey

Close seasons in San Augustine and Upshur counties;
Reduce season length by one week.

Migratory Game Bird Regulations

Establish season dates and bag limits for the take of migratory game birds.

Law Enforcement

Clarify the “antler restriction” rule for white-tailed deer.

II. Discussion: Responsibility for establishing seasons, bag limits, and means and methods for taking wildlife resources is delegated to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission (Commission) under Texas Parks and Wildlife Code, Chapter 61. The potential changes are based upon statutory requirements and Commission policy, including scientific investigation and required findings of fact where applicable. The potential changes are intended to increase recreational opportunity, decrease regulatory complexity where possible, promote enforcement, and provide for the sound biological management of the wildlife resources of the state.

At the Commission Work Session meeting on January 24, 2018, staff was authorized to publish the proposed rules in the Texas Register for public comment. The proposed rules appeared in the February 16, 2018 issue of the Texas Register (43 Tex. Reg. 827-35,837-41). A summary of public comment on the proposed rules will be presented at the time of the hearing.

III. Recommendation: Staff recommends that the Commission adopt the proposed motion:

“The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission adopts amendments to §§65.3, 65.11, 65.42, 65.46, 65.60, 65.64, and 65.66, concerning the Statewide Hunting Proclamation and amendments to §§65.315 and 65.318-65.321, concerning the Migratory Game Bird Proclamation, and amendment to §65.375, concerning the Statewide Furbearing Animal Proclamation with changes as necessary to the proposed text as published in the February 16, 2018 issue of the Texas Register (43 Tex. Reg. 827-35, 837-41).”

Attachments – 3

Exhibit A – Proposed Statewide Hunting Proclamation
Exhibit B – Proposed Migratory Game Bird Proclamation
Exhibit C – Proposed Statewide Furbearing Animal Proclamation

Commission Agenda Item No. 3
Exhibit A

2018-2019 STATEWIDE HUNTING PROCLAMATION
PROPOSAL PREAMBLE

1. Introduction.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department proposes amendments to §§65.3, 65.11, 65.42, 65.46, 65.60, 65.64, and 65.66, concerning the Statewide Hunting Proclamation.

The amendment to §65.3, concerning Definitions, would add new definitions for “air gun” and “airbow.” In response to a petition for rulemaking and field demonstrations, the department has determined that air guns of .30 caliber or larger and airbows are capable of reliably killing alligators, big game species (deer, pronghorn, desert bighorn sheep, javelina), and turkey and therefore should be lawful means of take for those species. Similarly, air guns of .177 caliber and larger are capable of reliably killing upland game birds other than turkey (therefore, the proposed amendment would define “airbow” as “a device that propels an arrow or bolt solely by means of the force of compressed gas, and “air gun” as “a device that functions by using unignited compressed gas to propel a bullet.” The definitions are necessary to provide meanings for specialized terms in order to prevent ambiguity and enhance compliance and enforcement.

The proposed amendment to §65.11, concerning Lawful Means, would alter current language to make air guns and airbows lawful means for the take of alligators (except in the 22 “core” counties, those counties constituting the prime historical habitat for the American alligator in Texas, where commercial hunting is viable and the department engages in significant biological monitoring of the resource and manages harvest through tag issuance to landowners), big game species, and upland game birds. As noted previously, the department received a petition for rulemaking requesting that air guns and airbows be designated as lawful means, and after conducting field demonstrations determined that such means can be used to take wildlife resources without causing depletion or waste, which are defined by Parks and Wildlife Code, §61.005, as “the reduction of a species below its immediate recuperative potential by any cause” and “the failure to provide for the regulated harvest of surplus wildlife resources when that harvest would allow, promote, or optimize healthy and self-sustaining population of a species” respectively. The proposed amendment also would eliminate language regarding the legal dimensions and characteristics of broadhead hunting points and crossbow minimum requirements. Under current rule, crossbows are required to have a minimum of 125 pounds of pull, a mechanical safety, a stock of not less than 25 inches in length, and use broadheads that are at least 7/8-inch in width upon impact, with a minimum of two cutting edges (mechanical broadheads are required to open upon impact and when open be a minimum of 7/8-inch in width). The current legal requirements for bolts also apply to broadhead hunting points used with lawful archery equipment. The department has determined that such requirements are archaic, difficult to enforce, and unnecessary, reasoning that because hunters are unlikely to use taking devices that are inefficient or incapable of achieving desired outcomes, there is not a need to prescribe the particulars of crossbows or broadhead points by rule. The department also reasons that simplifying the rules might remove barriers to participation. Finally, the amendment would remove all requirements other than the minimum caliber for the take of squirrel by air gun. Currently, department rules require that an air gun used for the take of squirrel be designed to be fired from the shoulder, have a muzzle velocity of at least 600 feet per second, and fire a projectile of at least .177 caliber (4.5 mm) in diameter. As noted previously in this preamble, the department proposes to allow air guns for the take of alligators, big game species, and upland game birds, specifying a minimum of .30 caliber for the take of big game species and turkey and a minimum caliber of .177 for the take of non-migratory game birds other than turkey (quail, pheasant, chachalaca). In order to be consistent with the proposed minimum standards for air guns for the take of big game species, the proposed amendment would eliminate requirements other than minimum caliber for air guns.

The proposed amendment to §65.11 would also nonsubstantively reword paragraph (1)(A), which provides for the use of silencers, and to remove a reference to “wildlife resources of this state” and replace it with a reference to “alligators, game animals, and game birds” because those are the wildlife resources regulated under the subchapter.

The proposed amendment to §65.42, concerning Deer, would clarify regulations for the take of antlerless deer on United States Forest Service (USFS) properties, establish a uniform statewide closing date for the general deer season, open a general season for mule deer in Lynn County, implement an “antler-restriction” regulation (minimum spread requirement) for the take of buck mule deer in six West Texas counties (Briscoe, Childress, Cottle, Floyd, Hall, and Motley) and clarify the existing antler-restriction rule for white-tailed deer.

The department has become aware of confusion regarding the take of antlerless deer on USFS properties. Some USFS properties are jointly managed by the USFS and the department with hunting activities managed under the TPWD public hunting program and regulations contained in Chapter 65, Subchapter H. Other USFS properties (referred to colloquially as “open” USFS lands) are independently managed by USFS and hunting activities are regulated under the county regulations of this subchapter. Generally, USFS prohibits the take of antlerless on “open” USFS lands, with the exception of the LBJ National Grasslands (Montague and Wise counties) and Caddo National Grasslands (Fannin County) and in the case of the take of antlerless deer during archery, muzzleloader, and youth-only special seasons. In order to clarify these distinctions, the proposed amendment would create a general prohibition on the take of antlerless deer on USFS lands, with specific exceptions for Caddo National Grasslands, LBJ National Grasslands, and the special seasons noted previously.

For many years, the state was divided into two zones which had different opening and closing dates. In 2001, the department implemented a uniform statewide opening date for the general open white-tailed deer season in an effort to both simplify regulations and provide more flexibility for landowners and land managers to accomplish management goals. Since that time, white-tailed deer season has begun statewide on the first Saturday in November, but closed on the first Sunday in January in most northern counties while running until the third Sunday in January in South Texas. The department has determined that creating a single, uniform statewide general open season for white-tailed deer would further simplify regulation while allowing additional time in the northern two-thirds of the state to conduct additional beneficial harvest. Historical department harvest data indicate that the additional season length will not result in negative population impacts. The change to season length also results in proposed conforming changes to eliminate zone designations that are no longer necessary, and changes to various special late seasons where necessary to preserve the structure of current special season opportunities for youth, muzzleloader enthusiasts, and the harvest of antlerless and unbranched antlered deer.

The proposed amendment to §65.42 also would open a 9-day general open season for mule deer in Lynn County. The majority of the landscape utilization in Lynn County is large-scale farming and grazing operations, but survey data indicate the existence of mule deer populations that can sustain hunting pressure in those areas where suitable mule deer habitat exists. The literature suggests that the implementation of a buck-only season will have no measurable impact on herd productivity or expansion; however, a measurable change in the age structure of the buck segment of the population is possible if there is intense harvest pressure. If adopted, the new season would create increased hunter opportunity with no measurable effect on reproduction or distribution of mule deer populations in Lynn County. The proposed amendment also corrects an inadvertent omission from a previous reorganization by noting that antlerless mule deer in the counties listed in subsection (c)(4) may be harvested under a department-issued antlerless mule deer permit as well as under MLDP tag.

The proposed amendment to §65.42 also would insert conforming language into the provisions of subsection (b)(6) to eliminate potential confusion concerning the application of provisions concerning youth-only seasons. Although the rule states that there shall be a youth-only season in all counties where there is a general open season, the provisions of subparagraph (C) concerning bag limits, provisions for the take of antlerless deer, and special requirements, do not specifically mention the counties listed in paragraph (1)(K) and (L) of the current rule. The proposed amendment would clarify that the provisions of subparagraph (C) apply in the counties listed in subsection (1)(K) and (L) of the current rules (which are being redesignated as paragraph (1)(M) and (N) in this proposal).

The proposed amendment to §65.42 also would implement an “antler-restriction” regulation in Briscoe, Childress, Cottle, Floyd, Hall, and Motley counties. In this area of the southeast Panhandle, the bag limit for buck mule deer is one. Department data indicate an undesirably excessive harvest of bucks, which creates a skewed sex ratio and an age structure inordinately weighted towards young deer in the buck segment. The proposed amendment would prohibit the harvest of buck mule deer with less than a 20-inch outside spread, which is intended to allow younger bucks to mature and improve the age structure of the herd. The proposed antler-restriction rule would not apply on properties enrolled in the Managed Lands Deer Program because on such properties the landowner agrees to a department harvest quota designed to optimally manage deer populations.

Finally, the proposed amendment to §65.42 would clarify the “antler-restriction” rule for white-tailed deer. The antler-restriction rule was originally implemented to address unacceptably high harvest rates of yearling bucks in some counties by protecting young bucks until maturity. The current rule defines a lawful buck as a buck with at least one unbranched antler or a buck with an inside antler spread of at least 13 inches. The department is concerned that in counties where the antler restriction is in effect and the buck bag limit is two or more, a hunter might accidentally or intentionally harvest a buck that is not legal to kill and then take another buck with an inside spread of greater than 13 inches, which defeats the purpose of the rule. Therefore, the proposed amendment would clarify that in each county where the antler restrictions are imposed, it would be unlawful to harvest more than one buck that has two branched antlers.

The proposed amendments to §65.46, concerning Squirrel, §65.60, concerning Pheasant, and §65.66, concerning Chachalaca, would make the possession limit for those species three times the daily bag limit. In various previous rulemakings the department has made the possession limit three times the daily bag limit for quail and migratory game birds, and now proposes the same for squirrel, pheasant, and chachalaca for consistency and regulatory simplification. Department harvest and population data indicate no danger of negative population impacts as a result of the proposed amendments.

The proposed amendment to §65.64, concerning Turkey, would close the season for eastern turkey in San Augustine and Upshur counties, shorten the season for eastern turkey by seven days, and adjust fall season dates to preserve concurrency with deer seasons as a result of the proposed amendment to §65.42. San Augustine and Upshur counties meet the department’s decision metric for season closure which is reported harvest of one bird per year or less across a three-year average. At this metric a county is considered to be unable to provide adequate harvest potential. In addition, staff believe the season length for Eastern turkey zone should be curtailed by one week while maintaining the current May 14 closing date. The proposed amendment is based on department harvest and population data and is intended to protect hens from accidental or illegal harvest during incubation and to provide additional time for mating success.

2. Fiscal Note.

Clayton Wolf, Wildlife Division Director, has determined that for each of the first five years that the rules as proposed are in effect, there will be no fiscal implications to state or local governments as a result of administering or enforcing the rules.

3. Public Benefit/Cost Note.

Mr. Wolf also has determined that for each of the first five years that the rules as proposed are in effect:

(A) The public benefit anticipated as a result of enforcing or administering the proposed rules will be the dispensation of the agency’s statutory duty to protect and conserve the resources of this state, the duty to equitably distribute opportunity for the enjoyment of those resources among the citizens, and the execution of the commission’s policy to maximize recreational opportunity within the precepts of sound biological management practices.

There will be no adverse economic effect on persons required to comply with the rules as proposed.

(B) Under the provisions of Government Code, Chapter 2006, a state agency must prepare an economic impact statement and a regulatory flexibility analysis for a rule that may have an adverse economic effect on small businesses, micro-businesses, or rural communities. As required by Government Code, §2006.002(g), the Office of the Attorney General has prepared guidelines to assist state agencies in determining a proposed rule’s potential adverse economic impact on small and microbusinesses and rural communities. Those guidelines state that an agency need only consider a proposed rule’s direct adverse economic impacts” to determine if any further analysis is required. The department considers “direct economic impact “to mean a requirement that would directly impose recordkeeping or reporting requirements; impose taxes or fees; result in lost sales or profits; adversely affect market competition; or require the purchase or modification of equipment or services.

The department has determined that the proposed rules regulate various aspects of recreational license privileges that allow individual persons to pursue and harvest wildlife resources in this state and therefore do not directly affect small businesses, micro-businesses, or rural communities. Therefore, neither the economic impact statement nor the regulatory flexibility analysis described in Government Code, Chapter 2006, is required.

(C) The department has not drafted a local employment impact statement under the Administrative Procedures Act, §2001.022, as the agency has determined that the rules as proposed will not impact local economies.

(D) The department has determined that Government Code, §2001.0225 (Regulatory Analysis of Major Environmental Rules), does not apply to the proposed rules.

(E) The department has determined that there will not be a taking of private real property, as defined by Government Code, Chapter 2007, as a result of the proposed rules.

(F) The department has determined that because the rules as proposed do not impose a cost on regulated persons, it is not necessary to repeal or amend any existing rule.

(G) In compliance with the requirements of Government Code, §2001.0221, the department has prepared the following Government Growth Impact Statement (GGIS). The ruled as proposed, if adopted, will:

(1) neither create nor eliminate a government program;

(2) not result in an increase or decrease in the number of full-time equivalent employee needs;

(3) not result in a need for additional General Revenue funding;

(4) not affect the amount of any fee;

(5) create a new regulation;

(6) expand an existing regulation (by making airbows and air guns lawful means of take);

(7) neither increase nor decrease the number of individuals subject to regulation; and

(8) not positively or adversely affect the state’s economy.

4. Request for Public Comment.

Comments on the proposal may be submitted to Mitch Lockwood (big game) at (830) 792-9677, e-mail: mitch.lockwood @tpwd.texas.gov, Shaun Oldenburger (small game and upland birds) at 512-389-4778, e-mail: shaun.oldenburger@tpwd.texas.gov or Ellis Powell (Law Enforcement) at 512-389-4627, e-mail: ellis.powell@tpwd.texas.gov. Comments also may be submitted via the department’s website at https://www.tpwd.texas.gov/business/feedback/public_comment/.

5. Statutory Authority.

The amendments are proposed under the authority of Parks and Wildlife Code, Chapter 42, which allows the department to issue tags for animals allowed by law to be killed during each year or season, including antelope and turkey; and Chapter 61, which requires the commission to regulate the periods of time when it is lawful to hunt, take, or possess game animals, game birds, or aquatic animal life in this state; the means, methods, and places in which it is lawful to hunt, take, or possess game animals, game birds, or aquatic animal life in this state; the species, quantity, age or size, and, to the extent possible, the sex of the game animals, game birds, or aquatic animal life authorized to be hunted, taken, or possessed; and the region, county, area, body of water, or portion of a county where game animals, game birds, or aquatic animal life may be hunted, taken, or possessed.

The proposed amendments affect Parks and Wildlife Code, Chapters 42 and 61.

§65.3. Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. All other words and terms in this chapter shall have the meanings assigned in the Texas Parks and Wildlife Code.

(1) Airbow—A device that propels an arrow or bolt solely by means of the force of unignited compressed gas.

(2) Air gun—A device that functions by using unignited compressed gas to propel a bullet.

(3)[(1)] Alligator gig — A pole or staff equipped with at least one of the following:

(A) immovable prongs;

(B) two or more spring-loaded grasping arms; or

(4)[(2)] Alligator hide tag (hide tag) — A department-issued tag required by federal law pursuant to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to be affixed to all alligators taken in the state. All alligator hide tags issued by the department are CITES tags.

(5)[(3)] Annual bag limit — The quantity of a species of a wildlife resource that may be taken from September 1 of one year to August 31 of the following year.

(6)[(4)] Antlerless deer — A deer having no hardened antler protruding through the skin.

(7)[(5)] Antler point — A projection that extends at least one inch from the edge of a main beam or another tine. The tip of a main beam is also a point.

(8)[(6)] Bait — Something used to lure any wildlife resource.

(9)[(7)] Baited area — Any area where minerals, vegetative material or any other food substances are placed so as to lure a wildlife resource to, on, or over that area.

(10)[(8)] Bearded hen — A female turkey possessing a clearly visible beard protruding through the feathers of the breast.

(11)[(9)] Buck deer — A deer having a hardened antler protruding through the skin.

(12)[(10)] Daily bag limit — The quantity of a species of a wildlife resource that may be lawfully taken in one day.

(13)[(11)] Day — A 24-hour period of time that begins at midnight and ends at midnight.

(14)[(12)] Deer population data — Results derived from deer population surveys and/or from systematic data analysis of density or herd health indicators, such as browse surveys or other scientifically acceptable data, that function as direct or indirect indicators of population density.

(15)[(13)] Final processing — The cleaning of a dead wildlife resource for cooking or storage purposes. For a deer or antelope carcass, the term includes the processing of the animal more than by quartering.

(16)[(14)] Fully automatic firearm — Any firearm that is capable of firing more than one cartridge in succession by a single function of the trigger.

(17)[(15)] Gig — Any hand-held shaft with single or multiple points.

(18)[(16)] Landowner — Any person who has an ownership interest in a tract of land, and includes a person authorized by the landowner to act on behalf of the landowner as the landowner’s agent.

(19)[(17)] Lawful archery equipment — Longbow, recurved bow, and compound bow.

(20)[(18)] License year — The period of time for which an annual hunting license is valid.

(21)[(19)]Muzzleloader — Any firearm that is loaded only through the muzzle.

(22)[(20)] Permanent residence — One’s domicile. This does not include a temporary abode or dwelling such as a hunting/fishing club, or any club house, cabin, tent, or trailer house used as a hunting/fishing club, or any hotel, motel, or rooming house used during a hunting, fishing, pleasure, or business trip.

(23)[(21)] Possession limit — The maximum number of a wildlife resource that may be lawfully possessed at one time.

(24)[(22)] Silencer or sound-suppressing device — Any device that reduces the normal noise level created when the firearm is discharged or fired.

(25)[(23)] Spike-buck deer — A buck deer with no antler having more than one point.

(26)[(24)] Unbranched antler — An antler having no more than one antler point.

(27)[(25)] Unbranched antlered deer — A buck deer having at least one unbranched antler.

(28)[(26)] Upper-limb disability — A permanent loss of the use of fingers, hand or arm in a manner that renders a person incapable of using a longbow, compound bow or recurved bow.

(29)[(27)] Wildlife resources — Alligators, all game animals, and all game birds.

(30)[(28)] Wounded deer — A deer leaving a blood trail.

§65.11. Lawful Means. It is unlawful to hunt alligators, game animals or game birds[any of the wildlife resources of this state] except by the means authorized by this section, and as provided in §65.19 of this title (relating to Hunting Deer with Dogs).

(1) Firearms.

(A) Except as may be specifically restricted elsewhere in this chapter, it [It] is lawful to hunt alligators, game animals, and game birds with any legal firearm (including a muzzleloader)[any legal firearm, including muzzleloading firearms, and including a firearm equipped with a silencer, except as specifically restricted in this section].

(B) It is lawful to hunt by means of a legal firearm equipped with a silencer; however, nothing [Nothing] in this paragraph shall be construed to relieve any person of compliance with any other federal, state, or local laws governing the possession or use of firearm silencers.

(F) In Angelina, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Galveston, Hardin, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Matagorda, Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange, Polk, Refugio, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Trinity, Tyler and Victoria counties, alligators may not be hunted by means of firearms, air guns, or airbows. In all other counties, alligators may by hunted by means of firearms, air guns, or airbows on private property, including private waters, but may not be hunted by means of firearms, air guns, or airbows from, on, in, across, or over public water.

(G) Alligators lawfully caught on a taking device may be dispatched by means of firearms, air guns, or airbows in all counties.

(2) Archery.

(A) – (B) (No change.)

(C) While hunting turkey and all game animals other than squirrels by means of longbow, compound bow, or recurved bow the arrow must be equipped with a broadhead hunting point [at least 7/8-inch in width upon impact, with a minimum of two cutting edges. A mechanical broadhead must begin to open upon impact and when open must be a minimum of 7/8-inch in width].

(D) (No change.)

(3) Crossbow — Special Provisions.

(A) (No change.)

(B) When hunting turkey and all game animals other than squirrels by means of crossbow[:]

[(i) the crossbow must have a minimum of 125 pounds of pull;]

[(ii) the crossbow must have a mechanical safety;]

[(iii) the crossbow stock must be not less than 25 inches in length; and]

[(iv)] the bolt must conform with paragraph (2)(B) and (C) of this section.

(4) Air guns. Except as otherwise specifically provided elsewhere in this chapter, it[It] is lawful to hunt alligators, game animals, and non-migratory game birds with an air gun; however, when hunting:

(A) alligator, deer, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, javelina, or turkey by means of an air gun, the air gun must fire a projectile of at least .30 caliber in diameter; and

(B) squirrel, pheasant, quail, or chachalaca by means of an air gun, the air gun must fire a projectile of at least .177 caliber (4.5mm) in diameter[squirrels with an air gun, provided:]

[(A) the gun is designed to be fired from the shoulder;]

[(B) the gun operates by using the force of a spring, air, or non-ignited compressed gas to expel a projectile;]

[(C) the muzzle velocity of the gun is at least 600 feet per second; and]

[(D) the projectile is at least .177 caliber (4.5 mm) in diameter.]

(5) Airbows. It is lawful to use an airbow to take:

(A) alligators in the counties not listed in paragraph (1)(F) of this section; however, the provisions of paragraph (8) of this section apply; and

(B) game animals and upland game birds; however, the arrow must conform with paragraph (2)(B) and (C) of this section.

(6)[(5)] Falconry. It is lawful to hunt any game bird or game animal by means of falconry under the provisions of Subchapter K of this chapter (relating to Raptor Proclamation).

(7)[(6)] Alligator.

(A) Legal devices for taking alligators in the wild are as follows:

(i) – (iv) (No change.)

(v) lawful firearms, air guns, and airbows in counties where take by firearm, air gun, or airbow is allowed.

(B) A line of at least 300-pound test shall be securely attached to all taking devices other than firearms or air guns used to hunt alligators. Except as provided in this subsection, hook-bearing lines must be attached to a stationary object capable of maintaining a portion of the line above water when an alligator is caught on the line. A line attached to an arrow, snare, or gig must have a float attached when used to take alligators. The float shall be no less than six inches by six inches by eight inches, or, if the float is spherical, no less than eight inches in diameter.

(8)[(7)] Use of laser sighting devices. All provisions concerning hunter education requirements apply to persons hunting with laser sighting devices under this paragraph.

(A) (No change.)

(B) Use of laser sighting devices by persons who are physically disabled.

(i) A person with a physical disability may use a laser sighting device during lawful hunting hours in open seasons when assisted by a person who:

(I) is not legally blind or a person with a physical disability that renders the person incapable of using a traditional [firearm] sighting device;

(II) has a hunting license; and

(III) is at least 13 years of age.

(ii) A person who uses a laser sighting device under the provisions of this subparagraph must have in possession a signed statement from a physician or optometrist certifying that the person is incapable of using a traditional [firearm] sighting device.

(9)[(8)] Special Provisions.

(A) – (B) (No change.)

This agency hereby certifies that the proposal has been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be within the agency’s authority to adopt.

Issued in Austin, Texas, on

The proposed amendments affect Parks and Wildlife Code, Chapters 42 and 61.

§65.42. Deer.

(a) General.

(1) – (3) (No change.)

(4) Except as provided in Subchapter H of this chapter and subsections (b)(1)(G) and (b)(4)-(6) of this section, the take of antlerless deer is prohibited on USFS lands.

(b) White-tailed deer. The open seasons and bag limits for white-tailed deer shall be as follows.

(1) There shall be a general open season from the first Saturday in November through the third Sunday in January in the counties listed in subparagraphs (A)-(N) of this paragraph. [South Zone. The general open season for the counties listed in this subparagraph is from the first Saturday in November through the third Sunday in January.]

(A) In Aransas, Bee, Brooks, Calhoun, Cameron, Dimmit, Duval, Frio, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kinney (south of U.S. Highway 90), Kleberg, LaSalle, Live Oak, Maverick, McMullen, Medina (south of U.S. Highway 90), Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Starr, Uvalde (south of U.S. Highway 90), Val Verde (south of a line beginning at the International Bridge and proceeding along Spur 239 to U.S. Hwy. 90 and thence to the Kinney County line), Webb, Willacy, Zapata, and Zavala counties, there is a general open season. The bag limit is five deer, no more than three bucks.

(B) In Atascosa County there is a general open season.

(i) The bag limit is five deer, no more than two bucks; and

(ii) the antler restrictions described in paragraph (2) of this subsection apply.

[(2) North Zone. The general open season for the counties listed in this subparagraph is from the first Saturday in November through the first Sunday in January.]

(C)[(A)] In Bandera, Baylor, Bexar, Blanco, Burnet, Callahan, Coke, Coleman, Comal (west of Interstate 35), Concho, Crockett, Edwards, Gillespie, Glasscock, Haskell, Hays (west of Interstate 35), Howard, Irion, Jones, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney (north of U.S. Highway 90), Knox, Llano, Mason, McCulloch, Medina (north of U.S. Highway 90), Menard, Mitchell, Nolan, Pecos, Real, Reagan, Runnels, San Saba, Schleicher, Shackelford, Sterling, Sutton, Taylor, Terrell, Throckmorton, Tom Green, Travis (west of Interstate 35), Upton, Uvalde (north of U.S. Highway 90), Val Verde (north of a line beginning at the International Bridge and proceeding along Spur 239 to U.S. Hwy. 90 and thence to the Kinney County line), and Wilbarger counties, the bag limit is five deer, no more than two bucks.

(D)[(B)] In Archer, Bell (west of IH 35), Bosque, Brown, Clay, Coryell, Hamilton, Hill, Jack, Lampasas, McLennan, Mills, Palo Pinto, Somervell, Stephens, Wichita, Williamson (west of IH 35) and Young counties:

(i) the bag limit is five deer, no more than two bucks; and

(ii) the antler restrictions described in paragraph (2)[(3)] of this subsection apply.

(E)[(C)] In Armstrong, Borden, Briscoe, Carson, Childress, Collingsworth, Cottle, Crosby, Dickens, Donley, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Gray, Hall, Hardeman, Hemphill, Hutchinson, Kent, King, Lipscomb, Motley, Ochiltree, Roberts, Scurry, Stonewall, and Wheeler counties, the bag limit is five deer, no more than one buck.

(F)[(D)] In Brewster, Culberson, Jeff Davis, Presidio, and Reeves counties, the bag limit is four deer, no more than two bucks.

(G)[(E)] In Comanche, Cooke, Denton, Eastland, Erath, Hood, Johnson, Montague, Parker, Tarrant, and Wise counties: