AUSTIN, Texas — During the July 4 holiday weekend, at least 13 Texans drowned in public waters. Seven of those were in North Texas, and together they bring the total number of water-related fatalities in Texas to 66 for this year. More than half of those deaths did not involve boats.
AUSTIN, Texas — If you’ve been wanting to take the family on a camping trip, but weren’t quite sure how to put up a tent, what equipment to take and where to go to camp, the Texas Outdoor Family program is right up your alley. The first Texas state park-hosted TOF pilot program will be held on Aug. 4-5 at Galveston Island State Park. Huntsville State Park will host a TOF workshop Sept. 13-14.
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Department of State Health Services today advised limiting consumption of spotted seatrout (commonly called "speckled trout") and all species of catfish from Galveston Bay because of concerns about chemicals known as PCBs and dioxins. This marks the first time the state health department has issued an advisory for an inshore gamefish species from an entire major bay system.
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials are urging boaters to take extra care as thousands take to the state’s lakes and bays over the busy Independence Day holiday weekend.
LAKE JACKSON, Texas — The thing most people remember about Gordon is how much visiting schoolchildren loved him. Sometimes they’d stretch out on the floor of the visitor’s center, in front of the glass.
AUSTIN, Texas — What started as a wild idea in 1999 has become an important way to fund wildlife and fisheries conservation and support state parks in Texas, as evidenced by tens of thousands of motorists who have raised more than $4 million by humming down Lone Star roadways sporting conservation license plates.
AUSTIN, Texas — As an ecosystem, the Gulf of Mexico functions on a global scale. At more than 579,000 square miles, it’s the ninth largest body of water in the world. The July issue of Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine offers an in-depth exploration of the gulf from a number of angles.
AUSTIN, Texas — "We have this rock in our yard we call our thinking rock. We’ll go out there and read, and if we see a bird, we look it up in my husband’s bird book."
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Outdoor Family program is expanding, offering a new series of weekend workshops in state parks this summer and fall. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department began the program two years ago, and is also hosting workshops in local parks through partnerships with cities, river authorities and others.
AUSTIN, Texas — Winning teams in the 2008 Great Texas Birding Classic have awarded their conservation prize money to fund seven habitat projects totaling $73,000 along the Texas coast. Touted as the world’s longest birding competition, the Birding Classic has funded a total of $651,000 for avian habitat conservation since it began 12 years ago.