TPW Commission Meets May 21-22

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission will meet in Austin to consider a full agenda on May 21-22.

On Wednesday, the Commission will discuss a number of items including the public lands proclamation which authorizes hunting activities on public hunting lands, including selected state parks. Proposed amendments to the proclamation would create a mentored hunting permit for hunter recruitment purposes. Commissioners will also be briefed on feral animal control policies on TPWD lands and nuisance vegetation, which is a natural resource issue of increasing concern across the state.

On Thursday the Commission is scheduled to take action on the public lands proclamation as well as proposed aquaculture rules. They will be briefed on the coastal fishing forecast for the year and how TPWD makes decisions on stocking fish in freshwater. They will also hear about the Nobody's Waterproof water safety campaign and will find out how the Chaparral Management Area wildfire has affected wildlife habitat in the area.


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Texas State Parks "Getting Better All the Time"

Texas State Parks are “getting better all the time” thanks to increased funding provided by state lawmakers and voters. More than 200 new state park employee positions have been filled or advertised. Repairs of long-neglected facilities have begun. Campgrounds that closed two years ago due to limited funds have reopened, and days and hours of park operations have been extended. Park visitors are not only noticing better maintained facilities, but they’re also seeing expanded interpretive programming such as ranger talks and school visits, plus better customer service.

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Of Note 

Texas Hunting Accidents Continue Decline In 2007

Hunting accidents and fatalities in Texas continued their long-term decline in 2007, still down below three accidents per 10,000 hunters in recent years. That compares to about 12 accidents per 10,000 hunters in 1966, the year records began. Short-term, Texas had 26 injuries from hunting accidents in 2007, two less than the year before. The state had four fatalities in 2007, the same as the previous year. Although any fatality is tragic, Texas accident numbers are small compared to the number of hunters. According to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service national survey, 1,112,099 people hunted in Texas in 2007. The steady decline in the number of accidents per 10,000 licensed hunters tracks the growing number of people who take hunter education in Texas. In 1972, 2,119 people were certified in hunter education. In 2007, more than 3,000 volunteer hunter education instructors trained more than 30,000 hunters across the state. In 1988, hunter education became mandatory in Texas for anyone born on or after Sept. 2, 1971.


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