Harvest Surveys

Big Game Harvest

The big game harvest survey tracks hunter and harvest trends for javelina, mule deer, and white-tailed deer at the statewide, management unit, and ecoregion level. The survey has been run every year since the 1972-73 hunting season. Significant design changes happened after the 2004-05 hunting season; results prior to this are not directly comparable to those calculated afterward.

A survey form was mailed to 100,000 random hunters on 22 January 2022. Additionally, 25,000 randomly selected hunters for which we had an email address were sent a link to the online version of the survey on 28 January 2022. The mail survey had a link to the online survey printed on it, and respondents could choose to respond by mail or online. Both the mail and online survey were closed on 24 May 2022. 10,892 mail survey recipients responded, of which 2,721 (24.98%) responded online. 1,106 email recipients responded. Only one mailing was sent, and non-respondents were not contacted by other means.

A demographic analysis of all license buyers was performed; the same analysis was done for survey respondents. Fourteen statistics were estimated for each species at 13 different analysis levels, as well as the 95% confidence intervals for the estimates.

**2021-22 Big Game Harvest Estimates**
Statistic	Javelina	Mule Deer	White-tailed Deer
Hunters	36,691	29,673	756,172
Success Rate	52.08%	30.96%	70.05%
Female Harvest	11,301	877	388,457
% Female Harvest	29.77%	7.77%	46.59%
Male Harvest	16.892	8,780	439,474
% Male Harvest	70.23%	92.23%	53.41%
Total Harvest	28,192	9,658	827,928
Harvest per hunter	0.60	0.34	1.07
Hunter days	206,435	167,602	8,342,002
Days per Hunter	5.46	5.94	10.63
Days per Harvest	9.81	17.92	10.64
Hunters per 1000 acres	0.24	1.03	6.03
Days per 1000 acres	1.30	5.87	65.65
Harvest per 1000 acres	0.18	0.32	6.45

For more information on this survey, to receive the full survey analysis or to receive prior years surveys, email hunt@tpwd.texas.gov. Please note, full survey analysis files are not accessible to people who use an assistive device to access information. If you need assistance reading these files let our Hunt Information folks know and they will assist you.

Light Goose Conservation Season

As part of the requirements for allowing a Light Goose (snow, and Ross’s geese) Conservation Season, TPWD is required by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service to estimate the number of hunters participating in the conservation season, the total harvest during that period, and the total days hunted.

A survey was mailed to 8,000 random license buyers on 22 March 2022. The survey was closed on 20 July 2022. Respondents could fill out the paper form and mail it back or go online and fill it out digitally. 1,199 surveys were returned, of which 108 (9.01%) were online responses. The overall response rate was 14.99%.

**Light goose conservation season survey results**
Year	Hunters	Success Rate	Days	Harvest
2010	1,817	0.814	5,660	9,409
2011	1,676	0.851	5,645	13,859
2012	1,389	0.856	4,162	9,924
2013	1,497	0.828	5,533	12,900
2014	1,600	0.886	4,520	13,436
2015	2,260	0.888	5,931	17,516
2016	1,741	0.873	4,391	14,681
2017	1,101	0.854	3,617	7,849
2018	1,792	0.854	4,633	13,573
2019	1,531	0.732	4,569	8,696
2020	1,039	0.785	2,787	6,634
2021	1,257	0.790	3,215	8,775
2022	1,288	0.800	3,327	7,810

Public Hunting Area Use

In order to provide more public hunting opportunities, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) provides access to wildlife management areas, state parks and leases land from private individuals. These areas are open to anyone that purchases an Annual Public Hunting Permit or Limited Public Use Permit.

The primary purpose of the survey is to estimate use of each public hunting area as measured by the number of hunter days spent on each area. The survey has been run yearly since the 1987-88 season. The current survey analysis estimates the number of people that use the permits to access the properties, the number of days each property was visited and what activities were done while there. Additional questions dealing with taking youth to the properties are also asked, as a permit is not required for those under the age of 17 who accompany a permitted adult.

Of the 58,083 people who purchased a permit by 1 February 2022, 17,500 were chosen to receive a survey. All those who had provided a valid email address (n = 13,235) were sent an invitation on 24 February 2022, and non-respondents were sent a reminder on 11 March 2022 (n = 12,034). On 23 March 2022, all non-respondents to the online survey, plus those who had not provided an email address (n = 15,725), were mailed a paper survey. Non-respondents (n = 14,920) were mailed a second survey on 28 April 2022. The paper forms had the link to the online survey so that recipients could respond by either method. Non-respondents were not contacted through other means, and thus non-response bias is unknown and not handled within the survey. The survey was closed on 2 June 2022. There were 3,083 total responses to the survey for a response rate of 18.17%.

**2021-22 statewide public area use estimates**
Usage	Percent of Permit Buyers	Estimated Users
Total Users	71.47%	23,361
Total Days	no data	306,862
Total Days Per User	no data	13.14
Area Days	no data	190,037
Area Days Per User	no data	8.13
Area Visits	no data	253,527
Area Visits Per User	no data	10.85
Youth Days	no data	29,597
Youth Supervisors	25.42%	5,727
Youth Users	no data	8,855
Camping	18.09%	3,504
Fishing	11.58%	2,242
Hiking	17.51%	3,391
Photography	8.37%	1,620
Scouting	92.12%	17,841
Wildlife Viewing	30.54%	5,916
Deer Bow Hunting	25.16%	5,143
Deer Gun Hunting	30.14%	6,161
Dove Hunting	31.71%	6,481
Furbearer Hunting	1.38%	283
Hog Hunting	24.70%	5,049
Pheasant Hunting	0.37%	75
Quail Hunting	5.44%	1,112
Rabbit Hunting	5.35%	1,093
Squirrel Hunting	11.71%	2,393
Waterfowl Hunting	28.85%	5,897

Small Game Harvest

The Small Game Harvest Survey estimates hunter and harvest trends for 24 species of upland game birds, migratory game birds, rabbits, and squirrels. For species with multiple hunting seasons, results are detailed as such. The survey was first run after the 1981-82 hunting season and has subsequently been conducted every year since the 1986-87 hunting season.

A survey form was mailed to 35,000 random hunters in March 2022. The survey was closed in July 2022, at which time 5,470 surveys had been returned. A parallel online survey of 35,000 random hunters for whom TPWD had an email address was run concurrently. A total of 1,914 email surveys were returned.

A demographic analysis of all license buyers was performed; the same analysis was done for survey respondents. 12 statistics were estimated for each species at 17 different analysis levels, as well as the 95% confidence intervals for the estimates.

**2021-22 Statewide Small Game Harvest Estimates (% change from 5-year average)**
Species	Number of Hunters	% Change Hunters	Number of Hunting Days	% Change Days	Total Harvest	% Change Harvest	Hunter Success Rate	% Change Success
Eurasian Dove	269,954	-6 %	1,015,419	-13 %	235,168	-25 %	14 %	-5 %
Mourning Dove	269,954	-6 %	1,015,419	-13 %	3,371,986	-17 %	69 %	-5 %
White-Tipped Dove	269,954	-6 %	1,015,419	-13 %	41,399	-49 %	3 %	-32 %
White-Winged Dove	269,954	-6 %	1,015,419	-13 %	1,496,105	-14 %	38 %	-10 %
Total Dove	269,954	-6 %	1,015,419	-13 %	5,144,658	-17 %	76 %	-7 %
Duck	87,685	4 %	469,168	2 %	908,185	-15 %	82 %	-4 %
Gallinule*	575	no data	6,325	no data	2,300	no data	50 %	no data
Goose	22,137	37 %	83,947	37 %	93,722	-3 %	74 %	-8 %
Northern Bobwhite Quail	30,762	-11 %	164,445	3 %	359,939	-5 %	83 %	3 %
Pheasant	4,600	-54 %	6,325	-66 %	13,800	-52 %	56 %	-17 %/
Scaled Quail	10,925	-1 %	46,574	-1 %	60,661	-33 %	63 %	-16 %
Rabbit	22,712	30 %	105,222	-25 %	111,834	-41 %	77 %	-7 %
Rail*	287	no data	5,750	no data	N/A	no data	N/A	no data
Snipe	2,012	42 %	7,762	70 %	8,625	80 %	N/A	no data
Squirrel	56,923	22 %	621,844	114 %	408,813	15 %	85 %	0 %
Teal	23,574	12 %	80,498	22 %	253,567	18 %	79 %	-7 %
Fall Turkey	40,515	0 %	701,220	24 %	11,502	-11 %	32 %	-13 %
Spring Turkey	55,248	16 %	519,956	32 %	20,168	5 %	40 %	-6 %
Woodcock	2,300	125 %	7,762	143 %	8,625	216 %	88 %	90 %

*Data for 2021-22 only; insufficient data for 5-year comparison

Special White-Winged Dove Days

Six Special White-winged Dove Days are allowed in the South Dove Zone prior to the regular dove season. During the six special days, hunting is only allowed during the afternoon, and the daily bag limit for mourning doves is limited. Historically, the special white-winged dove area (SWWDA) was limited to the lower Rio Grande Valley, but it has expanded over time as white-winged dove populations have become more widely distributed. The SWWDA now encompasses the entire South Dove Zone.

The Special White-winged Dove Days Survey has been run every year since the 1986-87 season. The purpose of the survey is to estimate the number of hunters, hunter days, and total harvest of mourning dove, white-winged dove and white-tipped dove in the SWWDA during the four special days. Because surveys are received from hunters that have hunted over the entire state, the survey analysis calculates harvest estimates for the SWWDA and the remainder of the state.

A total of 441,101 people bought licenses that qualified them to hunt doves during the 2022-23 season. Of those, 15,000 were randomly chosen to receive a mail survey. The survey was printed and mailed in September 2022. The 12,688 non-respondents were sent a second mailing in October 2022, and the survey was closed in December 2022. There were 3,326 responses to the survey; 724 (21.77%) of these were online responses.

2022-23 Survey Estimates.
Statewide includes those outside the SWWDA and those that did not report where they hunted
Location	Period	Hunter Days	Hunters	Mourning Dove	White-winged Dove	White-tipped Dove
Statewide	1st Fri	59,853	59,853	175,248	164,782	0
Statewide	1st Sat	71,190	71,190	180,548	162,937	0
Statewide	1st Sun	49,100	49,100	135,629	104,413	96
Statewide	2nd Fri	23,821	23,821	80,115	49,431	501
Statewide	2nd Sat	37,248	37,248	111,090	97,094	501
Statewide	2nd Sun	22,890	22,890	59,218	57,580	501
Statewide TOTALS	no data	264,102	123,941	741,848	636,236	1,599
SWWDA	1st Fri	9,188	9,188	19,295	44,249	0
SWWDA	1st Sat	7,983	7,983	12,851	36,732	0
SWWDA	1st Sun	4,583	4,583	4,642	21,171	0
SWWDA	2nd Fri	3,735	3,735	4,105	12,996	0
SWWDA	2nd Sat	4,940	4,940	3,246	16,730	0
SWWDA	2nd Sun	3,102	3,102	2,852	12,876	0
SWWDA TOTALS	no data	30,430	14,941	44,139	131,878	0