Stay up-to-date on operations adjustments and temporary closure of Law Enforcement offices, state parks, recreation facilities and water access points due to COVID-19. Please follow guidance from local authorities, Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Department of State Health Services.
AUSTIN – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is expanding its scale loaner program for the first time since it started in 2017. This program gives local tournament organizers the ability to incorporate the catch, weigh and immediate release formats made popular through professional-level fishing events, such as the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest (TBTF) and Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour.
TOYAHVALE— Due to construction delays caused by the public health crisis, Balmorhea State Park’s closure has been extended until the fall. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department remains in constant consultation with onsite contractors to ensure that the projects are completed safely and in as timely a manner as possible.
AUSTIN – With more people heading out to the water, recent reports have shown anglers aren’t catching bass as often despite healthy fish populations in lakes. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department launched a new study tracking the movements and behaviors of largemouth bass at Toledo Bend and Lake Fork to try and figure out why.
AUSTIN — Hunters looking for a new opportunity or a change of scenery this fall are encouraged to check out the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) drawn hunt permits program. Applications are being accepted now for a shot at more than 9,500 permits in 56 hunt categories.
AUSTIN – The July 4th Holiday arrives this weekend and Texans may be getting out on the water. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) inland fisheries and law enforcement staff are urging boaters to do their part to fight back against aquatic invasive species, such as zebra mussels and giant salvinia, threatening Texas lakes.
AUSTIN – With the July 4th holiday weekend on the horizon, Texans around the state are making plans to take advantage of the sunshine on the state’s waterways. Compared to this time last year, drownings are up more than 30 percent, so the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is reminding everyone to be safe this holiday weekend by following basic boating safety precautions and public health guidelines while on the water.
AUSTIN— Since April, there has been an uptick in black bear sightings in Bowie, Grayson and Titus counties in northeast Texas. The bears are thought to originate from the neighboring states of Oklahoma and Arkansas, or possibly Louisiana, where resident bear populations are well established and expanding. As the numbers of this iconic species grows, dispersing black bears find their way across state lines into Texas, signaling the possibility of its eventual permanent return to our landscape.
AUSTIN — For the first time in its 20-year history, a lucky winner has a chance to claim not one, but two one-of-a-kind experiences through the same package as part of the Big Time Texas Hunts drawing. One fortunate outdoorsman or woman and a guest can claim a guided saltwater fishing trip in tandem with a new big game hunting package at Powderhorn Wildlife Management Area, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s newest WMA on Matagorda Bay.
AUSTIN — The following items are compiled from recent Texas Parks and Wildlife law enforcement reports.
TERLINGUA— Chinati Mountains State Natural Area, located 25 miles north of Presidio, is now included into Big Bend Ranch State Parks’ 2017 International Dark Sky Park designation with the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA). The inclusion of Chinati Mountains SNA, which is not currently open to the public, adds about 40,000 acres to what is already one of the largest areas of protected night sky in the United States.