TPW Commission
Public Hearing, November 6, 2024
Transcript
TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE COMMISSION
November 6, 2024
TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT
SOLOMON P. ORTIZ INTERNATIONAL CENTER, NUECES ROOM
400 HARBOR DRIVE
CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS 78401
REGIONAL PUBLIC HEARING
CHAIRMAN JEFFERY HILDEBRAND: Now annual public hearing, correct?
Okay. Good afternoon, everyone. The regional public hearing is called to order November 6, 2024, at 2:45 p.m. Before we proceed, I believe Dr. Yoskowitz has a statement to make.
DR. DAVID YOSKOWITZ: A public notice of this meeting containing all items on the proposed agendas has been filed in the Office of the Secretary of State as required by Chapter 551, Government Code, referred to as the Open Meetings Act. I would like for this fact to be noted in the official record of this meeting.
Mr. Chairman and Commissioners, I want to join all of you in welcoming everyone to this regional public hearing in Corpus Christi, Texas, and in the Coastal Bend.
We are very deeply honored to be down here, and it’s a great privilege for the department staff and the commissioners to be here sharing these two days in Corpus Christi. It’s been six years since the Commission had last had a commission meeting outside of Austin.
We have a big presence in Corpus Christi and beyond with our Coastal Fisheries, State Parks, Wildlife and Law Enforcement teams.
As part of this hearing, we’re going to have a chance to hear from some of our local department leaders about some of the work happening in the Coastal Bend area. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Okay. All right. So, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Operations and Initiatives in the Coastal Bend Area. We’ve got four presenters. The first is Mr. Perry Trial.
Mr. Trial?
MR. PERRY TRIAL: Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, Commissioners.
For the record, my name is Perry Trial. I’m the Regional Director for the Coastal Fisheries’ management teams on the lower half of the coast.
Today, I’d like to tell you a little about our division’s activities here in the Coastal Bend. I’d like to start by quickly highlighting the facilities that Coastal Fisheries operates out of in the Coastal Bend and the teams that work out of them.
This is the Rockport Marine Lab, which happens to be our oldest facility. It was built in 1947 by the Texas Game, Fish and Oyster Commission, and for 77 continuous years, we’ve been conducting fisheries research out of this building.
It currently serves as our regional office, so I work out of this building along with our Science Director, Mark Fisher, and some of his staff as well as the Corpus Christi Bay Ecosystem Team, which I’ll talk more about in a minute.
In 2011, the Texas Historical Commission placed a historical marker in front of the lab recognizing its contribution to the state.
So, I just mentioned the Corpus Christi Bay Ecosystem Team. Coastal Fisheries has what we call an “Ecosystem Team” associated with each major bay system on the Texas coast.
In the Coastal Bend, we have the Aransas Bay Ecosystem Team, the Corpus Christi Bay Ecosystem Team and the Upper Laguna Madre Ecosystem Team. Our Ecosystem Teams collect fisheries data using a variety of gears and techniques.
The data they collect and analyze are used for monitoring fish populations, estimating fishing pressure and landings, assessment of regulations, assessment of impacts from spills, kills, freezes, et cetera, and other research. These teams often collaborate with local university researchers on all manner of marine ecosystem research projects.
Also, in Rockport, we have this facility, which we refer to as the Rockport Annex. It houses our Aransas Bay Ecosystem Team as well as our Coastal Fisheries Maintenance Shop Team. Our maintenance team in Rockport supports all of our teams up and down the coast by performing maintenance and repair on vehicles and vessels as well as metal fabrication, fiberglass repair, construction and sampling gear, and a host of other things. They do an outstanding job of keeping everybody rolling.
This happens to be our newest facility. This is the Corpus Christi Field Station on Waldron Road. It was completed, and we moved in in January of 2022. This facility houses the Upper Laguna Madre Ecosystem Team as well as two staff members from our Science and Policy Branch and the Lower Coast Ecosystem Resources Program teams.
Our Ecosystem Resources Program comprises three teams that are all split between the upper and lower coast. The Ecosystem Resources Assessment Team provides technical guidance relating to fish and wildlife impacts, conducts fish and wildlife assessments related to natural and anthropogenic impacts, and they coordinate with the Ecosystem Teams on large scale sea turtle stunning and fish kill response.
The Habitat Assessment Team collects data to assess, monitor and map coastal habitats. They also develop and maintain spatial tools to assist in planning and decision making. For example, choosing a new restoration site or evaluating a potential commercial oyster mariculture site.
The Restoration and Artificial Reef Team, as the name would imply, leads the division’s efforts in coastal habitat restoration, monitoring and assessment, and artificial reef deployment in the Gulf. The offshore reefing involves three programs.
We have the Rigs to Reefs Program where decommissioned rigs are reefed more less in place in the Gulf. The companies donate the rigs to us plus money to support the program. And in turn, it saves them the cost of removal which can be quite expensive.
The Ships to Reefs Program is where we take decommissioned ships, clean them up and tow them to a site offshore and reef them. There are 12 such sites along the coast.
The Nearshore Reefing Program allows us to partner with private citizens, organizations, and corporations to deploy various materials under our guidance. These sites are closer to shore and in shallower water, so they are much more accessible than some of the deeper artificial reef sites. We have 15 of those along the coast. Materials include things like recycled concrete structures, rock or prefabricated reef structures like the pyramids you see in the lower right-hand image.
Last, but certainly not least, is our CCA Marine Development Center, which is our lower-coast fish hatchery. Opened in 1982 as the John Wilson Fish Hatchery, it was a cooperative effort between TPWD, Central Power and Light Company and the Gulf Coast Conservation Association, which of course we now know as CCA.
The hatchery raises “the big three”: red drum, spotted seatrout and southern flounder, helping boost natural recruitment of those species. Of course, you’re all aware of the significant milestone reached by our hatchery program earlier this year when we released our one billionth fish and certainly, all of the folks that worked at MDC over the years contributed greatly to that accomplishment. Staff at the hatchery also conduct research and often collaborate with universities on research related to stock enhancement. The hatchery also provides a great setting for public outreach.
MDC staff conduct tours of the hatchery. They provide touch tanks for in‑person events and hold public fishing events. Of course, all of our teams participate in outreach. And our Outreach Coordinator, Holly Grand, does a great job coordinating many of these events with our teams throughout the year. Earth Day Bay Day is an example of a big in‑person event in which we participate right here in Corpus Christi. And in FY ‘24, we reached 6,000 people at in‑person events in Corpus Christi and surrounding counties, most of those being children. In addition, many more students were reached through online distance learning programs that Coastal Fisheries puts on throughout the year.
And finally, I just want to conclude by recognizing some of our local partners with whom we frequently work in the Coastal Bend and beyond. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Thank you. Any questions for Mr. Trial?
Thank you. That was a great event, the billionth, Billy the billionth. That was a wonderful, wonderful event. All right.
Mr. Len Polasek.
MR. LEN POLASEK: Good afternoon, Chairman Hildebrand, Commissioners, and Dr. Yoskowitz. My name is Len Polasek, and I’m the Region 5 Director for the Wildlife Division.
Today, I’ll be providing you an update on Wildlife operations within the Coastal Bend, including additional staff added within our districts, public hunting we’re offering this season, and information on current research projects.
Region 5 covers South Texas and consists of Districts 10 and 11 and in this slide, the individual biologists are represented by the different pastel colors within the counties.
We also have the South Texas Ecosystem Project that covers the Chaparral and James Daughtrey WMAs, the Coastal Bend Wetlands Ecosystem Project encompassing five coastal WMAs, and the Lower Rio Grande Valley Ecosystem Project covering 18 units of the Las Palomas WMA. A total of 46 staff work in the region.
You likely recall that the popularity and participation in the Managed Lands Deer Program has grown exponentially over time.
Even though participation increased tremendously, it wasn’t until TPWD started charging for participation in the program in 2021 that funds were generated to add additional district staff to the field to handle the heavy workload. These new positions were located in counties where the MLDP Conservation Option participation was the highest. The locations of new staff are indicated by the yellow stars on the map.
The goal of the additional staff was to try and have each biologist working with 150 or fewer Conservation Option management units so that the biologists could conduct site visits with these cooperators every two to three years. For the 2024-2025 season, staff within Districts 10 and 11 are working with 2,277 Conservation Management Units covering over 7.4 million acres in South Texas.
Our staff within the districts and projects also worked to provide quality hunting locations for the public. The counties depicted in gray offer opportunities for hunters with the $48 Annual Public Hunting (APH)permit. These lands total more than 114,000 acres and provide dove, quail and waterfowl hunting access within a three-hour drive of Corpus Christi. In addition to the APH hunts, many of the WMAs, state parks and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service properties within the same counties offer drawn hunts for white‑tailed deer, javelina, feral hogs, turkey, alligators and exotic species.
The Coastal Bend Wetlands Ecosystem Project is the closest to our current location in Corpus Christi. Redhead Pond WMA is a 36‑acre WMA offering bird watching opportunities within the Flour Bluff community. Within an hour drive of our location, hunters can participate in waterfowl hunts at the Guadalupe Delta WMA or take their boat to Matagorda Island for waterfowl or drawn deer hunts. Drawn hunts are also offered for white‑tailed, axis and sambar deer on the Powderhorn WMA.
I also wanted to share a couple of coastal research projects our staff are participating in. The first is a Texas A&M University study testing the detectability and efficiency of multiple survey methods for rails in our coastal marshes. And the second is a Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program and Texas State University study monitoring Black Skimmer populations along the Texas Coast in an effort to determine environmental, biological and human‑related factors contributing to population declines within their nesting colonies.
Finally, I’d like to highlight TPWD’s participation in the Endangered Ocelot Reintroduction Project.
Daniel Kunz pictured here, represents TPWD on this team, which includes U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the East Foundation, researchers at Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M Natural Resource Institute, and numerous other universities, zoos and researchers.
Currently in Texas, ocelots only exist within the thick thorn scrub habitat at the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in Cameron County and on private ranches within adjacent counties.
Due to the proximity of these populations to the coast and the potential negative impacts of a hurricane and the genetic isolation of the populations, the group will attempt to reintroduce captive bred ocelots to a location further inland but still within the historical range.
Dr. Yoskowitz joined the team last month at the groundbreaking ceremony for the captive breeding facility that will be constructed at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Cats bred in the facility will then be transferred to a soft-release facility on the East Foundation’s San Antonio Viejo Ranch in Jim Hogg County for conditioning before being released into the wild. This project is an excellent example of a public/private partnership to recover an endangered species.
The East Foundation signed a Safe Harbor agreement with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect their rights and their neighboring landowners’ rights with the release of the endangered species into the wild.
Chairman, this concludes my presentation. I’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Commissioners, any questions? Thank you very much.
MR. POLASEK: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Great work. Next up is Mr. Reagan Faught.
MR. REAGAN FAUGHT: Thank you, and good afternoon, Chairman and Commissioners. Welcome to the Coastal Bend. For the record, my name is Reagan Faught, and I have the privilege of serving State Parks as the Region 2 Director. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to speak before you today.
State Parks Region 2 stewards 14 park locations that geographically extend from Lockhart to Laredo, down to Brownsville and up the coastline to Port Lavaca.
Today’s briefing will focus on five parks positioned within a 75‑mile radius of Corpus Christi, Texas. Three of the parks were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, and one is not yet open to the public. The five parks include Goliad State Park and Historic Site, Goose Island, Lake Corpus Christi, Mustang Island, and Powderhorn State Parks.
The Coastal Bend has long been recognized as a region with abundant natural resources. Of our five parks in the area, comprising of more than 8,000 acres of conserved and managed habitat, attract over half a million visitors each year, generating $2.7 million in annual revenue.
The parks draw visitors from across Texas, the U.S., and from around the world, all of which contribute to the local economies of the Coastal Bend. A central tenet of our mission and focus for parks in the Coastal Bend is education. Last year, over 800 interpretive school groups, special events programs were held at our four open Coastal Bend parks reaching over 10,000 children and youth and 8,700 adults. One notable example of excellence for special events and education at our parks is the Kid Fish Event hosted by Lake Corpus Christi State Park. Supported by multiple divisions of the department and external partners, the event has been held annually for the last 32 years, engaging hundreds of children each year with fishing and the outdoors, many for the first time.
The park has also hosted other impactful programs and events partnering with Mathis ISD to provide reoccurring after‑school programs and the Corpus Christi Deaf and Hard of Hearing Center for summer campouts.
The park interpreter at Lake Corpus Christi, Josie Gunter, received national recognition this past year when she was awarded the Outstanding New Interpreter of the Year by the National Association of Interpretation.
Although Powderhorn State Park is not yet open, limited opportunities have been made available for public engagement and education. The park supported Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Angler Education Program in providing an angler education, mentored fishing weekend, and supported the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation by hosting Steward of the Wild events. Additionally, the park, in cooperation with the adjacent wildlife management area, has successfully provided hunting opportunities over the last three years. Each year, multiple youth hunts are offered, providing opportunities to harvest game and exotic animals.
Resource stewardship is another pillar of our mission. The barrier islands stretching from Corpus Christi to Port Aransas named, Mustang Island, continues to experience rapid development. The importance of conserving coastal habitat has never been greater.
Mustang Island State Park added 455 acres of contiguous habitat through the execution of a lease with the General Land Office.
The park implements multiple habitat management activities, including prescribed fire partnership with the nonprofit organization, The Peregrine Fund, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for ongoing Aplomado Falcon research.
Goose Island received the prestigious 2024 History Preservation Award from the Aransas County Historical Society. Beyond the park’s commitment to steward the culturally iconic Big Tree and the impressive Civilian Conservation Corps-built recreation hall, the team has provided living history and heritage education programs through engagement with park visitors at local schools, libraries, county history center, and at many county and community events.
An important aspect of our service to park visitors is the ongoing efforts to make our parks more accessible.
At Goliad, the park, along with our Cultural Resources Program, have partnered with Texas A&M University Center for Heritage Conservation and the Texas Workforce Commission’s Criss Cole Rehabilitation Center to create tactile models of Mission Espiritu Santo. High‑resolution digital scans have been used to create 3‑D printed models for vision‑impaired visitors who through touch are able to see the mission architecture. The models will be soon cast in bronze and made available to visitors of the historic site. Many other new accessibility initiatives are taking place at parks across the Coastal Bend.
Thank you, Chairman, Commissioners.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Thank you. Any questions? All right.
Thank you. Captain Ben Baker.
CAPTAIN BEN BAKER: Chairman, Commissioners, Director, my name is Ben Baker, and I am your captain game warden for the Coastal Bend area of Corpus Christi.
Before I get started, I would like to acknowledge some of my peers that came up here and presented. You know, in the Coastal Bend, we have got a strong relationship with the community here with Parks and Wildlife, and we have numerous divisions that operate the Coastal Bend and we all work very well together creating that strong presence. Also, a couple of my peers here from our Region 8 command team. I would like to recognize them in the back. Again, all of us, our close‑knit team here in the Coastal Bend and we all work together to get the Parks and Wildlife mission accomplished.
District 3 consists of three counties, including Live Oak, Nueces and San Patricio. In those three counties, we have 13 game wardens, including Colton Thomas, Drew Garrett, John Failla, Kyle Hendley, Welden Rappmund, Branden Gross, Orion Macias, James Ramirez, Ben Jenkins, Kevin Mitchell, Joseph Hendrix, Reuben Saage and Jacob Copeland.
Our first county we are going to discuss is Live Oak County– as most of you have probably been to and maybe participated in a little bit of hunting in– Live Oak County has a wide variety of hunting, including a special white wing season including dove, a robust white-tailed deer season, turkey season, and quail season. We’ve got two water bodies in Live Oak County, including Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir, including the Calliham Unit on Choke Canyon State Park.
In San Patricio County, we get a little farther back to the coast. We have got the county seat sitting. We have also have Aransas Pass, Portland, Mathis, Ingleside, and Taft. Again, we have Lake Corpus Christi State Park in San Patricio, and we have Lake Corpus Christi that provides a variety of activities, including fishing and water safety opportunities. We have multiple commercial fishing operations including fish dealers and a large fleet of shrimping vessels in Conn Brown and Aransas Pass. We also have, of course, an extensive dove season, including, again, special white‑wing, and we are home to the Welder Wildlife Refuge.
We assist local agencies with several festivals, including Shrimporee and Wind Fest, also with numerous search and rescue operations both on the coast and inland on these lakes. As some of you are probably aware of in the latest news media, we had an unfortunate incident at Lake Corpus Christi State Park over the last couple of days. Unfortunately, you know, we had to respond. We had a couple of fatalities. Again, our condolences to those families. But we also assist a wide variety of agencies on those search and rescue and recovery efforts.
And Nueces County. Home, of course, to the Port of Corpus Christi, providing these fabulous facilities to have this commission in. A very active port. 187.9 million tons go out of this port annually. Game warden activities include water safety, fishing patrols. We have coastal waters, Gulf waters, the Neuces River. We have got several bays including Corpus Christi Bay, Nueces Bay and the Upper Laguna Madre. We have got an exceptional waterfowl season, including early teal season. We do have portions of the King Ranch in Nueces County. And we have Sand Fest. Of course, one of our big attractions in District 3 is Port Aransas. And in Port Aransas, we act as a force multiplier and an agency assist for our local Port Aransas PD in their spring break operations which is a great way to interact with the public and make sure everybody is enjoying their spring break safely.
We assist local agencies. We also have several state and federal agencies that operate out of the Coastal Bend, including the U.S. Coast Guard where we have multiple operations, including our IUU Initiative that we will discuss here in a little bit with the Captain Murchison. We go out in federal waters and support them and support our mission on getting this IUU, you know, taken care of. We also have Texas A&M University and Del Mar College in Corpus Christi. Again, we provide an array of activities that both of those university and community college for outreach and recruitment in there, and providing general (inaudible) programs.
Coastal Bend is also home to the Marine Tactical Operations Group (MTOG). As you see outside, we have Captain Murchison out there which is our 80‑foot patrol vessel. We have got Captain Wesley Groth, Sergeant Travis Haug and Sergeant Michael Gonzales and Matt Strauss. Some of the MTOG responsibilities in the Captain Murchison along with the PV Wilson include port security, border security, long‑range Gulf of Mexico fisheries, and maritime critical incidents.
Just some numbers that we patrol in District 3 in our Coastal Bend District. District 3 wardens patrol approximately 2,500 square miles of land. Over 7,000 acres of water, 268 miles of river, which include the Nueces River both below and above Lake Corpus Christi Dam. Also, the Aransas River. We have several bays including Corpus Christi Bay, Nueces Bay, Red Fish Bay, and the Upper Laguna Madre, and we have 35 miles of coastline. We are also the gateway to Padre Island National Seashore and have robust activities there include turtle cold‑stun events, which again we participate in with our fellow Parks and Wildlife division.
And also, we have Sharkathon out there which we also assist with. Presently, we are hearing this is one of the largest land‑based shark tournaments in the world. We just had it last month. It was a great turnout. We were able to, you know, spread the message and contact numerous constituents that everyone had a good time. Thank you so much for your time. Again, welcome to the Coastal Bend and that is your Law Enforcement Division here in Corpus Christi. Any questions?
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Thank you. Any questions? Thanks for your service. We certainly appreciate it. What is your number one issue from a law enforcement standpoint these days?
CAPTAIN BAKER: So, from a law enforcement standpoint, our number one issue is obviously going to be the safety side on the law enforcement. Of course, you know, as you know with us being conservation law enforcement, we have some conservation issues.
But here in Corpus Christi and the Coastal Bend with the influx of boaters that we are having on the water, we have seen an influx of some vessel accidents.
And so of course, getting on the water, making sure that our presence are known on the water, and that we are taking the proper water safety enforcement actions, is the number one priority. Of course, now, whenever we move into this time of year with the flounder closure, you know, we start switching gears a little bit with waterfowl season, you know, here, and the flounder closure. Again, it still revolves around the water safety because we have got our numerous duck hunters going out there. You know, we try to emphasize the importance of, you know, with the cold weather coming up, to make sure they have got all their water safety equipment. One of our mandates on the coast here has been our IUU. And that is kind of the… our gulf initiative again with the Captain Murchison illegal, unreported, unregulated gear, which is coming up from the MBL, Mexican Boundary Line, down in Brownsville. What we’ve got is we have got these commercial fishermen that are coming up and setting these long lines. So, that has been an initiative of us, it has been an initiative of the department and division, to see if we could work with our federal partners in trying to curtail some of this illegal activity. We have had great success with it.
Hopefully, we will get some new equipment in here and have some great success in the future. But those relationships are important.
Kind of all of that coming together at the Coastal Bend is really on the forefront of what we are looking at on enforcement.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: And has that been a substantial issue, the illegals coming from Mexico and doing the illegal long‑lining?
CAPTAIN BAKER: Correct, yes, sir. Yes, sir. What we are seeing is we’re seeing them stemming from the MBL and coming in…
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: MBL?
CAPTAIN BAKER: Mexican Boundary Line. Yes, sir. Sorry about that.
We have had them come as far north as Port Aransas. We have had long‑line markers and we have had some long lines being reported this far north. Of course, we have had numerous launches wash up on Padre Island National Seashore. On, you know, in Kleberg, on where, you know, the Bob Hall Pier used to be. They are coming north, you know. Some of the typical activities are off of Port Mansfield, you know, 15‑20 miles off, and that far north. But we have seen an increase in activity.
We have seen an increase in our response as well. We have been able to partner with U.S. Coast Guard, with NOAA and some of our other federal partners to really get the surveillance out there where we can kind of attack this in a group effort and have the best response. It’s just you know it’s one of their livelihoods, and we can see when they come in and we do our best to protect not only our state resources, but our federal resources as well.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Great. All right. Well, once again, thank you for your service. Appreciate it.
CAPTAIN BAKER: Thank you for your time.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: All right. Next order of business is for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission to hold a regional public hearing to receive public comments concerning any issue relating to the Commission’s regulatory powers and duties.
I would like to introduce Jeff Pollack, Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer.
MR. JEFF POLLACK: Hi, there. Good afternoon. Mr. Chairman, Commissioners, staff and guests. For the record, Jeff Pollack.
I am the Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer here at the Port of Corpus Christi. And on behalf of our Port Commission, C.E.O., and executive staff, all of whom are represented, we would like to welcome you to the Coastal Bend and, in particular, to the largest energy export port in the country. Hopefully, you will have a chance to see some cargoes moving through the gateway behind us. And those cargoes are absolutely moving the needle on national GDP, balance of energy trade, and particularly energy security for U.S. allies abroad.
For us as a public port authority, we are a political subdivision of the State of Texas for whom all operational decisions are set in the context of the coastal environment.
The mission and scope of Parks and Wildlife resonates very deeply.
Like Parks and Wildlife, the Port takes a collaborative approach and a data-driven approach to the decisions we make. And in particular, our growth and development and operational decisions are guided by quantitative performance targets that are defined in an environmental policy. And in particular, in that environmental policy, which is underpinned by six key precepts, one relates exclusively to habitat restoration and creation.
We actually have a codified target of restoring or creating 50 acres of habitat independent of any mitigation obligation every three years.
So that’s something that we are uniquely positioned to do because thanks to maintenance activities of the ship channel out back we are constantly generating clean sediments. This creates all sorts of opportunities for partnerships across the state, building habitat that underpins productivity in coastal ecosystems.
So, with that, again, I would like to welcome you. I wish you the best in a productive meeting today and tomorrow. And if there is anything that any of us on the port side can do to make your visit more interesting and more fun, let us know. Thanks.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Great. Question: How is your dredging project coming? Is it ongoing or complete?
MR. POLLACK: So, we will be… the primary reach of our ship channel, so roughly 35 miles, will be at 54‑foot depth by the middle of next year. We are in the middle of… well, the early phase of a feasibility study to look at taking the La Quinta reach of the channel from 47 feet to 54. And we have completed federal authorization by way of an EIS to take the outer reach of the channel potentially to 75. No plans to commercialize that or put that in place. That’s just a long lead optionality for us. But the 54-foot channel will be complete by the middle of next year.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: So, what does the 54 feet do for you that you don’t have capability of now?
MR. POLLACK: Yeah, thanks. That is a great question. At 54 feet, we will effectively be able to fully load a Suezmax class carrier of crude with a WTI spec of crude from Texas.
So whereas today those vessels are partially loaded and then reverse lightered offshore, requiring trips by ancillary vessels– so more fuel consumption, more resource consumption, more emissions, more time– at 54 feet, we will be able to fully load that Suezmax class vessel which today is the largest vessel that the inner harbor can accommodate. Translates into a marked increase in efficiency.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: What is that, two million? What do they hold, two million barrels?
MR. POLLACK: I THINK IT IS SOMEWHERE IN THE WAY OF 1.2, RIGHT?
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: 1.2, okay.
MR. POLLACK: Right.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: But they are already doing that in Ingleside, aren’t they?
MR. POLLACK: Ingleside has one terminal that is at 54 today.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Okay.
MR. POLLACK: And again, the nuance here is that even when the channels is at 54, there is also ancillary dredging to get the births themselves to get to 54 so you can utilize that deeper channel. So, we do have some Suez fully loaded. We also have the largest class of crude carriers on the planet, very large cruise carriers that are partially loaded at Ingleside and then reverse‑lightered offshore.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Right. Godspeed. We like the exportation of crude oil. Helps everybody, so…
[ LAUGHTER ]
MR. POLLACK: All right. Thanks.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Thank you. Hold on.
DR. YOSKOWITZ: So Jeff, on behalf of Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, once again, thank you to you, the Port Commissioners, the staff, for hosting us here.
It has been a tremendous experience just to get to this point today in working with your team. And we are looking forward to closing it out tomorrow. You know, it is so important. The Coastal Bend is so important as you were just sharing with the Chairman, the impact it has, the port has on the rest of the world. And to be here, part of that experience just for a few days, and to soak it in here at the Port of Corpus Christi, thank you very much for that.
MR. POLLACK: We are thrilled to have you.
DR. YOSKOWITZ: I would like to invite up the staff, port commission staff, leadership. And I would like the commissioners, our commissioners, to come down. And we would like to get a photo together.
[ INDISTINCT SPEAKERS ]
[ APPLAUSE ]
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Okay. Now the fun part. We… There are several people, I believe it’s 11– or no, 13, excuse me– that signed up to speak. It says you will have two minutes to speak.
and will the next person be ready. I will have a lot of grace on that two minutes today. First up, we are going to start with Jonathan Letz.
MR. JONATHAN LETZ: Good afternoon, Chairman Hildebrand, Commissioners, Dr. Yoskowitz. For the record, my name is Jonathan Letz and I’m President of the Texas Wildlife Association.
I would like to start by thanking Chairman Hildebrand, Vice‑Chairman Bell, Commissioner Galo, Dr. Yoskowitz, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife staff for including TWA in the numerous meetings and discussions regarding developing new protocols for CWD. Our goal is to slow the spread and hopefully stop this terrible disease.
TWA’s position has been that any solution must be based on science, protect private property rights, inform the public, and protect the wild deer of Texas.
I also want to thank Texas Deer Association President Jody Phillips. Jody and I have spent countless hours meeting with many of the individuals I just mentioned. In addition to that, we have had many one-on-one phone calls almost weekly. Our open dialogue has been most helpful and productive. And I really want to thank TDA and Jody Phillips for their assistance in developing these protocols.
We believe great progress has been made in developing the new protocols to address CWD. We support the package that was published by the Texas Parks and Wildlife staff today.
In addition to the rule changes, there are a number of policy changes within the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department that have been discussed, and I encourage these changes to be implemented.
However, the details and specific language of the proposed changes are still a work in progress. TWA is supportive of where we are today.
However, our final decision on support, we base on the final language in the rule changes. And we think they will be presented at the January commission meeting. Most of all, I really just want to thank you for the hard work that the commission staff, Jody and others, have done to get us where we are today. It’s been a great effort, a collaborative effort, and I really appreciate the time. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Great. Thanks, Jonathan. Really well done.
I appreciate your work, too. All right.
Next, Jody Phillips, Texas Deer Association President.
MS. JODY PHILLIPS: Good afternoon, Chairman, Commissioners, Dr. Yoskowitz. I’m Jody Phillips, President of the Texas Deer Association.
I first want to thank those who have been engaged over the past several months toward the betterment of CWD regulation.
Jonathan, for the… as we… he just discussed, the meaningful conversations, the ability to disagree without losing sight of our focus and our goal has been a good experience. Also, Commissioner Galo, Commissioner Bell, Chairman Hildebrand, and all the Parks and Wildlife staff for being able to have an open and good conversations, and open mind. I can’t express my thanks for that enough.
So, our collective goal as breeders revolves around the natural resource. And with that in mind, I think over time the act of deer breeding has morphed into this industry that is promoting conservation through commerce and that as we all know, the CWD regulations sometimes inhibit that. I realize there is complexities ahead through the regulatory process. However, I’m optimistic as we embrace resistance as the most aggressive approach toward disease mitigation and utilize the tools of the double fencing, the testing, to create a bridge where breeders can work under more simplistic and knowable rules.
As with all types of industries, we are always evolving. So, I think it is very important to highlight this as crucial in lessening adversarial tensions. And I consider it paramount in future efforts toward becoming more proactive towards CWD instead of reactive in our future.
As deer breeders, I say this a lot but our goal is to produce the best of what mother nature has to offer of white‑tail and the natural resource.
I think we can collectively achieve this if all parties are adaptable and open to new possibilities through our involvement and the evolvement and it will make us where we can navigate more effectively. So that being said, I know that the rules that are in place are not perfect. I know that we still have work to do, and I hope to be able to somehow get there and be able to move forward for a better future for CWD and for all stakeholders involved, something that is good for everyone. So, I appreciate it.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Great. Thanks so much, Jody. All right.
Next, John True.
MR. JOHN TRUE: Good afternoon. Chairman Hildebrand, Vice‑Chairman Bell, members of the Commission, thanks for the opportunity.
For the record, John True, I’m a deer‑breeder in North Texas.
First of all, thank you for your leadership pursuing a new approach to the zone model.
We as breeders and TDA feel like we have a seat at the table currently, and that’s important. We are thankful for that.
I’m personally grateful for your work in working with the staff, working through the issues of the proximity rules.
On behalf of our operation and the next person that potentially falls in this unlucky position, it’s important. And thank you for addressing it with the tools in our toolbox that are backed by science, and I look forward to hopefully making this a reality in January. Thanks.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Great. Thanks, John. Next, Mr. Ken Baker.
MR. KEN BAKER: Let me change glasses here because my good glasses are in the shop. That is what happens when you get older. You don’t see as well as you used to.
First of all, my name is Ken Baker. I’m a retired state game warden, captain. 41 years of service in Rio Grande Valley.
A lot of things I would like to talk about but I will just dwell on one. I ran a district office down in Brownsville for a good many years. District offices, in terms of law enforcement, are located throughout various areas of the state.
But in my observation, you know, I think that, first of all, the Department needs to implement more non‑commissioned personnel in those offices instead of two.
I could not run an office with just two secretaries. If one was on vacation, that left all the burden on one. And if she got sick, well you would just have to shut it down. And we are in the business of providing a public service to the public. You know, that needs to be looked at. You know, all of this is inadequate when you have to put the evidence safes in the bathroom. It is completely inadequate. That’s something that needs to be looked at.
You know, maybe try to increase funding. Maybe some kind of program to implement the building of these offices. Perhaps even going and looking at FEMA. You know, we are first responders.
There may be some funds there available for first responders.
Chairman Hildebrand, Vice‑Chair Bell, the rest of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, I appreciate your time. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Thank You, Mr. Baker. Mr. John Shepperd.
MR. JOHN SHEPPERD: Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and Commissioners and Dr. Yoskowitz. My name is John Shepperd.
I’m the Executive Director of the Texas Foundation for Conservation, and I’m a board member of the Devils River Conservancy. For the first part of my testimony, I’m speaking on behalf of both organizations.
We are very encouraged to see that you have a briefing tomorrow on renewable energy that will review the impacts of wind and solar on wildlife habitat and public lands. This is an important topic, and we need to move into the future with our eyes wide open about energy sprawl.
I want to be clear. We are not against renewable energy. We recognize our state’s energy needs are immense and will only increase as our population grows, and we will need multiple energy resources to keep pace.
However, when you put a renewable energy project in the wrong location, it ceases to be a green project. I think we can all agree it would be terrible to have a wind farm next to the Bracken bat cave.
It would be terrible to have a wind farm in Garner State Park.
When you look through that lens, it’s clear that there is some areas of the state that shouldn’t be developed for renewables because of the wildlife, environmental and viewshed impacts.
Likewise, the Devils River watershed is one of the most pristine and unique landscapes in the entire state, and it should stay that way so future Texans can enjoy the true wilderness experience as we do today.
Texas has many, many highly disturbed landscapes, and that is where we should encourage renewable energy projects. Think about existing industrial airways, highway medians, rooftops in residential areas, parking lots and other similar places.
Finally, speaking on behalf of the Texas Foundation for Conservation, it’s exciting to see these proposed land acquisitions on tomorrow’s agenda. As we all know, Texas is a private land state. And so, any opportunities to increase public access to the outdoors should be celebrated. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Great. Thank you. Riley Ann Price.
MS. RILEY ANN PRICE: I love a good road trip. It has been a number of years since I have been able to be in Corpus. My husband and I have harvested quite a bit of cotton in this area in years past and even had the opportunity to operate some experimental machinery for John Deere down here years ago.
And the last time I flew to the airport in Corpus, I was delivering parts. So, it was a little easier travel today.
Change of scenery is always good.
For the record, I am Riley Ann Price. I’m from Hermleigh, Texas.
And my claim to fame is I’m a proud cotton farmer. It is always a pleasure to be here. Today has been refreshing. It has been refreshing to hear that we have multiple agencies and task force groups working together side by side with parks in the effort to have meaningful conservations and communication in order to reach reasonable rules and regulations that can be implemented and have realistic results. That’s so refreshing.
And I thank you, and I thank all the parties who have been involved in that and have found a seat at that table and have had a conversation that has proven to be meaningful. I encourage the department to continue to work towards more reasonable regulations.
This rule package is not perfect, but it’s a starting place. It’s a way forward. I appreciate this step back from zoning as a landowner.
Mr. Hildebrand, I appreciate you getting me that number that I asked for last time. I watched and heard the next day. It’s still written on my mouse pad next to my desk, and every day when I sit down, I think about that. And I appreciate that from you. You know, the zoning is a huge accomplishment, but we still have work to do.
We have to continue to work towards a reasonable plan to eliminate the traced lockdowns.
You know, these deer breeders have really put forth a huge effort, and I think that they should be commended as producers.
It is hard to be a producer in the great state of Texas. And I think that they should be commended on their productive scientific approaches to eliminate this disease and build herds with disease‑resistance.
They should be commended for their efforts and the value that they have brought to the table trying to reach reasonable, realistic regulations.
Thank you for your time. Thank you for the effort that you are putting forward. And I look forward to seeing you guys again.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Thank You, Ms. Price. Mr. Jim Meyn.
MR. JIM MEYN: Good afternoon, Chairman, Commissioners, David.
I’m here on behalf of Palacios Marine Agricultural Research (PMAR).
I spoke at the last commission meeting.
We run the only production hatchery in Texas for oysters. And, as you all know, the oyster season has opened up again for harvest.
And similar to last year, we’ve had pretty poor survey results that have led to a very few number of oyster harvesting zones being opened for production. The reasons for this decline is numerous and divisive, but I think we can all agree this is a pretty big Texas‑sized problem that we are facing. It threatens our historic commercial fishery, threatens the health of our bays.
I think we need to take some bold steps now to ensure a sustainable commercial fishery, to restore our oyster stocks, and to improve the quality of our bays. PMAR was built for this purpose. We are not trying to compete with other organizations.
We are here for Texas waters. We are here to help oyster restoration projects, the oyster fishery, and even the new mariculture oyster industry.
Next year, we can produce 300 million oysters out of our hatchery. Compare that to the estimated 50 million that were harvested this last season or the one million that are coming off of the new industry mariculture. That is a substantial number of oysters.
Those oysters could be used to replenish our public reefs.
They could be used to help restore or recover bays that have been threatened by storms or fresh water like Galveston just this summer.
They could be used to seed certificates of location and help expand the bottom fishery on private property, either for commercial purposes or for restoration purposes. We understand that right now the Department is actually working on legislation that will allow for the deployment of our oysters, our hatchery‑raised oysters, for these purposes and others to be determined.
I’m here today to ask for your blessing to pursue a four‑acre research reef opportunity. We would at least like to use the time that we have now to test restoration strategies, spat on shell, direct setting, and other methods so that when we do have the legislative authority to use our oysters for restoration, we already have a plan in place to effectively use them.
I think we should continue to work together to turn the tide on this oyster problem. Thank you for your time.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Great. Thank you. You can produce 300 million oysters a year?
MR. MEYN: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: And at what size can you produce them?
MR. MEYN: Well, I could grow them up to about a piece of sand.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: A piece of sand. Okay.
MR. MEYN: A piece of sand. And in restoration applications, the typical application is you would put them on existing oyster shell. You would put oyster shell in a tank. It is called spat on shell. And you would let the oysters attach to that shell and put it out on pre-set areas in the bay much like they do in the Chesapeake.
We are hoping to extend the research on a new cheaper method of restoration called, direct setting, that allows you to take that same animal before it’s attached out to a prepared area and deposit it on reef substrate shell, and they have proven in a pilot level in the Chesapeake that it can be effective. The value of pursuing that method and proving it on a reef scale is the cost savings is tremendous. And as you have heard about the cost of substrate from the restoration folks here today, cost is one of the biggest inhibitors of all of our restoration goals. So, we would like the opportunity…
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: So, you could potentially put spat on a degraded oyster bed, and it will cultivate and grow?
MR. MEYN: Technically it would be called eye larvae at that stage. But yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Okay. All right.
MR. MEYN: Just for the record.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: and PMAR is funded by the Rachal family?
MR. MEYN: Yes, sir. It is fully funded by the Ed Rachal Foundation.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: 100%?
MR. MEYN: 100%.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: What’s your budget a year?
MR. MEYN: I just set the budget this year. Our operating costs are about $2.5 million.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: $2.5 million? And your facility is where?
MR. MEYN: It is located in Palacios, Texas. It’s Matagorda Bay.
Mid coast.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Okay, we may come see it sometime.
MR. MEYN: I would welcome you all to come see us. And I have actually been in the process of getting various department staff to come visit us. In December, we’ll have the ecosystem leads from the three bays closest to us.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Great. Thank you very much for your work.
MR. MEYN: Thank you for your time.
COMMISSIONER ABELL: One quick question. In that direct set method, do you have any numbers on the percentage you take?
Like, what’s actually getting set versus what’s washing away?
MR. MEYN: Yes, so there have been two studies led by Dr. Jason Spires. One study by Dr. Spires, which led off of a U.S. Navy study; they are both published.
I would be happy to share those reports with you. They found lower set success rates than in a remote setting where you put spat on shell in a tank. But given the reduced cost, you know, we are talking five cents on the dollar, maybe less, you know… I can take a million oysters out to a reef in a coffee cup that are in an eye larvae state versus spat on shell. Materials handling. Cost of the tanks. Cost of the barge. Cost of the spray down. It is worth studying. And I think we should get started.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: It certainly is.
COMMISSIONER DOGGETT: How long does it take a grain of sand to grow to a two-inch oyster?
MR. MEYN: In Texas waters, it is ten to 12 months.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Oh, wow.
MR. MEYN: Potentially faster if it has gone into a nursery, that is a force flow system. We have an advantage in the Gulf generally over the Northeast and the Northwest in producing a really high-quality oyster at the top of the water column, in terms of mariculture, that competes with anything I have ever had on the East Coast.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Interesting. Great. Okay, thank you so much.
MR. MEYN: Thank you, sir.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Dr. Neal Wilkins of the East Foundation.
Hello, Dr. Wilkins.
DR. NEAL WILKINS: How are you doing?
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: I’m fine.
DR. WILKINS: Chairman Hildebrand, Commissioners, Dr. Yoskowitz, my name is Neal Wilkins. I serve as President of East Foundation.
We operate here in deep South Texas across about 217,000 acres of the most beautiful South Texas rangeland you can imagine.
Thank you for coming to South Texas and thank you for being here in Corpus Christi.
Our mission is to promote land stewardship through ranching, science and education. And I’m here mainly to talk about the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department staff that worked with us in our education programs.
They are involved throughout the state in education programs, but specifically those that are working with us at the East Foundation through our Behind-The-Gates Program. East Foundation hosts students at the El Sauz Ranch and the San Antonio Viejo Ranch for hands‑on education events. And these are fully immersion events. We are catching kids before they flee, so
seventh and eighth graders, fifth graders. Making sure that we catch these kids before they get away. Because if they get away, we will never see them again.
Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens and biologists have been part of that program for over 13 years. And during that period, we have reached over 32,000 kids out on those ranches, and over 2,000 teachers. Some of those teachers are repeat offenders.
Last week… Just last week, we hosted 1,100 seventh and eighth graders from Webb, Zapata, Duval, Starr and Jim Hogg Counties.
Representing Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and teaching were seven game wardens from Zapata, Starr, Jim Hogg Counties, along with four wildlife biologists that worked those same areas. These men and women represent your department well.
The impact on these kids is huge. And for most of them, this is the first time they have come face to face with a game warden or a wildlife biologist.
And for many of them they walk away thinking, “I want to be that person.” And this is an unbelievable transformative thing. We have done that for 13 years. Some of those kids that we started off 13 years ago are in college now. And, you know, we can see their growth because of the impact of those programs.
So, they learn from these professionals, and they want to be like them.
The second thing I would like to touch on really quick, if I have 14 seconds, is to just urge your support for the proposed CWD rule package.
For private landowners in South Texas, this is really important.
One of the more important parts of that rule package is the requirement for retaining permanent visible identification for the release of all breeder deer.
Without that, I’m afraid that the rest of the package begins to crumble. This requirement is one of the more important steps you could take to protect wild white‑tailed deer in the state of Texas. Thank you for your time. Thank you for all the work that you guys do.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Thank you, Dr. Wilkins. Next up, Mary Pearl Meuth.
MS. MARY PEARL MEUTH: Good afternoon, Chairman, Commissioners, Dr. Yoskowitz. My name is Mary Pearl Meuth, and I currently serve as President of Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society.
I’m here today to speak in support of visible permanent identification as an important measure for managing chronic wasting disease, and to encourage a vigilant and steadfast regulation in this generational wildlife disease. To illustrate this, I’m going to deviate from my standard with facts and scientific numbers and I’m going to tell you three stories from recent history.
These three stories demonstrate how deeply this issue touches all of us– hunters, families and professionals alike. First, my ten‑year‑old daughter recently took a hunter education class led by one of your outstanding staff members, Mr. Steve Hall.
She came home excited, not just learning about gun safety but also understanding what CWD is– I do talk about it a lot at the dinner table– and why it matters. She now sees the importance of why hunters need to be able to recognize and test for diseases like CWD. I look forward to sharing stories and pictures and all of the details of her first harvest hopefully later this season.
This past weekend– my second story– this past weekend I was with a group of new adult hunters enrolled in Texas Wildlife Association’s Adult Learn-To-Hunt Program. These individuals new to hunting immediately grasped the severity of CWD as a threat to the publicly owned wild deer populations, the role they play in ethical hunting and the need for stewardship through testing.
All were successful in their first harvest as well. Happy to share those pictures, too.
Finally, a close friend of mine, a wildlife biologist, worked 12‑hour days at the CWD check station in her county this same past weekend.
She had several wildlife students from the Texas A&M Student Chapter of the Wildlife Society as volunteers. She balanced her professional duty with her role as a mentor for our future biologists ensuring our resources are protected while modeling the responsibility to the next generation who will live with this disease in their profession for years to come.
Finally, these stories demonstrate the long‑lasting impact that CWD has on our entire conservation community– conservation and hunting community. We are supportive of TPWD’s efforts and believe that a visible permanent identification is a vital step forward.
We recognize that while CWD zones may be phased out, there is a strong need for continuous long‑term planning and public awareness initiatives. This disease affects my daughter, our wildlife students, and generations of future Texas hunters.
I urge you to continue to support visible ID measures and educating the public on this critical issue. It is our duty to protect our wildlife heritage, not just for today but for tomorrow.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Thank you. Ms. Alice Oehmig.
MS. ALICE OEHMIG: Good afternoon, Chairman, Commissioners.
Alice Oehmig with Blue Creek White Tails.
Mr. Patton, Commissioner Patton, I wanted to take a moment, but you were deep in thought, to congratulate you and the L.A. Dodgers there for a 2024 champs.
COMMISSIONER PATTON: Thank you very much.
[ APPLAUSE ]
MS. OEHMIG: Very good. Congratulations. All in blue for you today. And not just Blue Creek White Tails.
All right, so one of the reasons why we are here, as usual, what I have seen presented here today, it falls flat on what’s needed if you really wish to enact real disease mitigation.
So I’m glad that it’s up for discussion but there really has to be an understanding that there is so much language missing because I actually am involved deeply with disease mitigation. And I mean it’s… I love the, you know, the division for fencing, but you need to understand the reason for it. And you need to have separate water sources and feed sources. There is so much more. And what I have noticed is nobody ever asks me.
You know, we say we are represented, but Blue Creek White Tails does not feel we have been represented.
I feel like we are out here on our own floundering. I have had to enact lobbyists, I have had to do everything I can to try to ensure that we… one of the fast growing agricultural businesses in the state of Texas was deer breeding, and now we are reduced to basically a death rattle. I mean, it is down to here. And if that is what had to happen because there were bad actors, then, you know, so be it. But I know many states have never had a deer‑breeding pen and they have CWD, lots of CWD because they test. And when you test, you find it. It is there. What is the correlation? How did it get there?
So, you know, I really feel that these committees… I don’t think that they are… you know, nobody has ever asked us to the table.
And I have presented many ideas and talked to other landowners and stakeholders. And we feel like we are just not being heard.
We feel like it is a little select, you know, making all the decisions.
Nothing gets posted. What’s talked about. If more people could get involved with ideas, we will find solutions, like real solutions. It is going to be here. It’s always been here.
I’m a strong proponent of seeing breeders treated differently than a high fence hunting facility. It is a different animal.
It is totally … and it should be treated as one. It is a livestock disease mitigation that you have to take. And people have done this before us that are a lot smarter at animal health for years with the USDA with very deadly infectious diseases that are highly transmissible. And guess what?
They sometimes just put particle boards between the deer to ship them out of the country. There is ways to handle this. We just have to come together.
I’m glad to see that people come together.
You know what, Jonathan Letz met Jody, you know, one of the things that I had asked for at one of the legislator’s office.
You know, everybody has the same wish. We want to do what’s best for Texas. I just would hope that you would encourage people on some of these committees to reach out and ask for us to have a seat at this table.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Sure. Okay. Thank You, Ms. Oehmig. Next, Jesse Gilbert.
MR. JESSIE GILBERT: Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, Commissioners, Dr. Yoskowitz.
I am Jessie Gilbert with the Texas State Aquarium at Corpus Christi, Texas.
And I wanted to thank the Commission and TPWD for 35 years of partnership, and most recently the collaboration with the aquarium on our Wildlife Rescue Program. The aquarium operates the largest Coastal Wildlife Rescue Program in the country.
And recently, with the leadership of the parks department, we were able to create the country’s first ever Emergency Operation Center for Wildlife.
It has put Texas at the tip of the spear from a wildlife disaster standpoint. And it’s put Corpus Christi and the coastal dam in the limelight.
We also have two initiatives coming. A research center to research disease and to research some of the different challenges that wildlife are facing, both coastal and terrestrial.
We are now the only American Ocelot Rehab Center. So, if an ocelot does get injured in the wild it will come to the Texas State Aquarium here in Corpus Christi, Texas, and be rehabbed.
So, there is a lot of initiatives happening with the Parks and Wildlife Department.
And we just want to thank you for that.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Great. Thank you very much. Walter Martin.
MR. WALTER MARTIN: Good afternoon, Chairman Hildebrand, Vice‑Chairman Bell, and all the Commissioners.
My name is Walter Martin, for the record, and I’m speaking on behalf of my family’s ranch in Zavala County. Our ranch is near three positive CWD breeding facilities.
It has been brought to our attention that this Commission will take up proposed rules and regulation changes regarding CWD beginning in January at the commission meeting.
My family and I support all the published proposed CWD changes with our number one priority being the visual ID ear tag must be permanent on all pen‑raised deer after release of these animals can be identified by all landowners. It has been documented that several penned deer have escaped from multiple high‑fenced facilities, including breeding facilities. Thus, we can with a high degree of certainty we know that pen‑raised deer are escaping from their release sites.
At last year’s November hearing, many of the proponents for the breeders stated it was the landowner’s right to remove the tag after it was released. As a landowner, I disagree with that argument because private landowners do not own any deer, neither native or captive.
The entire white‑tail herd is owned by the public, upheld by the Texas Supreme Court ruling of 2020. White‑tailed deer are a natural resource and regulated by Texas Parks and Wildlife with the advisement and recommendations of this Commission.
It is under this regulatory authority that we support Texas Parks and Wildlife and its Commission’s approval and implementation of all published changes regarding CWD so that the public’s interest is protected.
On a personal note, I’m a United States Marine Corps veteran.
I want to thank Vice‑Chairman Bell for his service to our country and to wish you a Happy Valentine’s Day next Monday. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Thank you. Final speaker. Mr. Kevin Davis.
MR. KEVIN DAVIS: Good afternoon, Chairman, Commissioners, Dr. Yoskowitz. For the record, my name is Kevin Davis with the Texas Deer Association.
And I’m here today basically to tell everybody in this room thank you for the continued efforts to try to find middle ground, to try to bring a reasonable approach, to try to find value in every part of this multifaceted response to CWD.
It is apparent to me that all of this Commission has remained engaged and interested in the discussion, and it is really nice to see. I really want to thank you for that.
I want to particularly thank Dr. Yoskowitz for just a second and Craig Bonds. Craig and I have been friends for a long time and colleagues. I’m getting to know Dr. Yoskowitz better.
I will tell you that we have had multiple discussions over the last few months where something in the discussion wasn’t clear or vague or whatever. Whenever I have called… either I try not to bother Dr. Yoskowitz too much., but I’ll burn Craig’s phone up. And they are both always responsive.
Obviously, we need to also thank Alan Cain today for his presentation because that was a very in‑depth discussion about what this rule package looks like. And he took a very complex set of issues, placed them in separate buckets and discussed every one of them and made it a little bit easier to follow.
It is difficult to follow, but he did a good job on that.
Obviously, with the bucket approach there, there are items in some of those buckets that some people agree with, and some of those buckets that other people agree with or don’t agree with..
There is a lot of opinions. But what I see mostly is folks coming together to try to figure things out. And that is simply not a bad thing.
I think everybody has been involved in this discussion deserves kudos for that. Especially y’all. Thank you very much.
CHAIRMAN HILDEBRAND: Thank you, Mr. Davis. All right. Have I missed anyone?
If not, Dr. Yoskowitz, this Commission has completed its regional public hearing, and I declare us adjourned at 4:00 p.m.
You guys have a good evening.
[ GAVEL POUNDS ]
(REGIONAL PUBLIC HEARING ADJOURNED.)