AUSTIN – August 2020 marks the 4th Annual National Shooting Sports Month, as designated by the National Shooting Sports Foundation. To commemorate the month, which is on the cusp of the fall hunting season, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is highlighting agency programs aimed at providing participants of all ages and skill-levels the opportunity to safely hit the range or the field.
AUSTIN — September marks the start of dove season for more than 300,000 Texas hunters per year. While 2020 surveys of dove populations were cancelled due to ongoing public health concerns, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) estimates promising hunting conditions ahead of the start of the season.
AUSTIN – With the start of a new hunting season fast approaching, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is reminding hunters and anglers that current year Texas hunting and fishing licenses (except the Year-from-Purchase All-Water Package) will expire at the end of August. New licenses for the 2020-21 season go on sale Aug. 15.
AUSTIN – La nueva temporada de cacería está llegando, y el Departamento de Parques y Vida Silvestre de Texas quiere recordarles a los cazadores y pescadores que sus licencias (con excepción del paquete de “Year-from-Purchase” para pesca en todas las aguas) expirarán al fin de agosto. Nuevas licencias para la temporada de 2020-2021 estarán a la venta el 15 de agosto.
AUSTIN— While conducting aerial surveys for desert bighorn sheep in West Texas on Saturday, Aug. 8, three Texas Parks and Wildlife Department employees died in a helicopter crash on TPWD’s Black Gap Wildlife Management Area in Brewster County.
The following items are compiled from recent Texas Parks and Wildlife law enforcement reports.
AUSTIN – Conservation groups are asking the tens of thousands of people who boat in Texas coastal waters every year to become part of the solution to conserve diminishing habitats. Habitat loss and degradation has been documented for years as a problem in coastal bays. The call for conservation comes as people look for a safe outdoor activity during the ongoing pandemic, when choosing to fish or boat in the bays is a popular option.
AUSTIN— Every year on July 31, World Ranger Day is an opportunity to take a moment to recognize the unwavering commitment towards park stewardship by the many park rangers at the 89 Texas State Parks that make up our state park system. Initially created by the International Ranger Federation, World Ranger Day celebrates the work park rangers do daily to protect the planet’s natural treasures and cultural heritage.
AUSTIN – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has upgraded O.H. Ivie Lake near San Angelo and Grapevine Lake located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, to fully “infested” with invasive zebra mussels. The status change is a result of recent sampling efforts that revealed new evidence of reproducing and growing populations of zebra mussels in these lakes. Previously, individual zebra mussels had been found on separate occasions and the lakes were designated as “positive” for zebra mussels.
AUSTIN- The private recreational angler red snapper season in federal waters will close at 12:01 a.m. Monday, Aug. 3. Anglers may continue to harvest up to 4 red snapper per day with a 15-inch minimum length limit from Texas state waters.