AUSTIN – In the state’s ongoing effort to combat the spread of invasive zebra mussels, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission approved for public comment new proposed rules requiring that all boats operating on public water in 17 Northeast Texas counties be drained after use.
AUSTIN – Hunters could use dogs to trail a wounded deer in 12 counties in East Texas, a practice that has been prohibited in this area of the state since 1990, under a proposal being considered by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
AUSTIN – Two of the dozens of bills that came out of the 83rd Texas Legislature affect boaters, anglers and other Texas Parks and Wildlife Department stakeholders.
AUSTIN – Proposed changes to the state’s hunter education certification program would streamline the process for the tens of thousands of Texans who take the course annually, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials.
AUSTIN- The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission has approved the acquisition of more than 3,000 acres of lesser prairie chicken habitat as an addition to the Yoakum Dunes Preserve in the Texas Panhandle, which is dedicated to the conservation of this iconic grasslands species.
AUSTIN – Late yesterday, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) and its commission joined together to file a lawsuit in United States District Court in Brownsville, Texas challenging an emergency regulation enacted by the federal National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) that, if left in place, would allow the NMFS regional administrator to significantly reduce the recreational red snapper season in federal waters off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana.
LUBBOCK – This month, wildlife experts are starting the second annual aerial survey to assess lesser prairie-chicken populations across five states, part of a multi-state collaboration to conserve the bird, as federal authorities consider whether to list it as a threatened species. New this year: oil and gas companies have committed $150,000 to help fund aerial survey work.
AUSTIN – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission received a briefing from staff on the state’s red snapper fishery as well as recent action by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council that is likely to shorten this year’s recreational fishing season in federal waters.
AUSTIN – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission will hold a special meeting in Austin on Feb. 26 to discuss recent events and options involving the Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery.
AUSTIN — The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is considering an experimental landowner controlled harvest pronghorn buck season. Wildlife officials are also proposing an extension of mule deer season under Managed Lands Deer Permits as part of recommended changes to the 2013-14 Statewide Hunting Proclamation.