Game Warden Field Notes, May 21, 2007
The following are excerpts from recent Texas Parks and Wildlife Department law enforcement reports.
TPWD News Releases
May 21, 2007
May 14, 2007
2007 Budweiser Sharelunker Season Wrap-Up
ATHENS, Texas — The 21st season of the Budweiser ShareLunker program ended April 30 with a total of 18 fish entered, slightly below the long-term average of 21.
Boaters Reminded ‘Nobody’s Waterproof,’ Safety Encouraged
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas had 47 boating fatalities in 2006, surpassing 40 for the first time since 2002, when the state led the nation with 61. Most of those tragedies were preventable, since on average 85 percent of boating fatality drowning victims who drowned were not wearing a life jacket when recovered.
Texas’ World Birding Center Taking Wing
MISSION, Texas — Ten years after planning began to launch the World Birding Center in Texas’ Lower Rio Grande Valley, the ambitious project to restore wildlife habitat and promote birding and nature tourism has taken off and is gaining altitude.
State Fish-Art Contest Winners Announced
ATHENS, Texas—Winners in the Texas division of the 2007 State-Fish Art Contest have been announced by Wildlife Forever and the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center, the sponsoring organizations.
Minor Planet Named for Texas State Park
NEEDVILLE, Texas — Brazos Bend has always been a Texas state park offering plenty to see and do. Now, it’s also a minor planet orbiting within our solar system.
May 7, 2007
2007 Lone Star Land Stewards Showcase Wildlife Conservation
AUSTIN, Texas — For wildlife habitat conservation to happen on a landscape level in Texas, it will have to occur on private property, which makes up the bulk of land holdings in the state. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Sand County Foundation are looking to recognize those who have shown exemplary efforts to manage their property as ambassadors of conservation.
Public Asked To Report Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles on Texas Coast
NORTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas — Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are returning to the Texas coast to nest, and scientists are asking beach-goers to report turtle sightings, while also extending an invitation for visitors to witness releases of captive-raised turtle hatchlings crawling toward the sea.
“If You See an Alligator” Safety Tips Offered
HOUSTON — Once an endangered species, the American alligator is now common in rivers, creeks, and backwater sloughs of East and South Texas. An ever-expanding human population continues to encroach upon the alligator’s domain, driving a trend of increased encounters between alligators and people.
April 30, 2007
Texas Tarpon Research Gets Shot in the Fin
AUSTIN, Texas — Tarpon reign as the supreme nearshore gamefish from Florida to Panama; that’s been the case at least since Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt did battle with “silver kings” in Port Aransas, Texas, in 1937.