AUSTIN – Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Inland Fisheries management staff are considering changes to freshwater fishing regulations at water bodies located in Cooke, Tom Green, Grayson, and Williamson counties for 2020-21. Staff previewed the potential changes to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission at their meeting this week in Austin.
AUSTIN – The Sunset Advisory Commission is reviewing the mission and performance of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and welcomes public comments on whether the agency is still needed and ideas to improve its operations and services. The Texas Sunset Act requires the Sunset Commission to periodically review TPWD and recommend whether to continue the agency and change state law to improve the agency’s efficiency and effectiveness. The Legislature ultimately will decide whether to continue TPWD and adopt Sunset’s other statutory recommendations. The Sunset Commission also may adopt management directives for TPWD that do not require statutory change.
AUSTIN – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is seeking public comment on proposed changes to the regulations on passive fishing gear (jug lines, minnow traps, perch traps, throwlines, and trotlines), which includes adding requirements and specifications for floats and reducing the valid period for gear tags to reduce the negative impacts of abandoned passive fishing gear in Texas public waters.
PRESIDIO— The Big Bend Ranch State Park Complex, managed by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, will be holding three public meetings this weekend to discuss the state of the Big Bend Ranch State Park (BBRSP) Complex.
AUSTIN – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is now accepting public comment on proposed changes to freshwater fishing regulations for 2019-2020. The proposed changes include modifications to the length limits and harvest regulations for largemouth bass, Alabama bass and alligator gar in certain areas. The proposed changes to alligator gar regulations also include a statewide nighttime prohibition on bow fishing, mandatory harvest reporting statewide except for Falcon Lake, and the creation of a drawing for harvest opportunity on the Trinity River.
AUSTIN – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is now accepting public comment on proposed changes to hunting regulations for 2019-2020. The proposed changes include implementation and expansion of white-tailed deer “doe days,” an experimental mule deer antler restriction in Lynn County, a clarification on turkey harvest requirements, and season dates and bag limits for migratory game birds.
AUSTIN – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is now accepting public comment on proposed changes to saltwater fishing regulations for 2019-2020. These changes are intended to streamline regulations for the entire Texas coast for spotted seatrout and modified regulations for certain species to be in line with federal rules to reduce confusion among anglers for sharks and cobia.
AUSTIN – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is proposing changes to fishing regulations for alligator gar, the largest and longest-lived freshwater fish in the state, to be voted on at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting March 20 in Austin. The proposed changes are intended to help the Department conserve and prevent the overharvest of older, mature alligator gar; fill data gaps through mandatory harvest reporting; and allow for limited opportunity to harvest large alligator gar from the Trinity River by creating a drawing system.
AUSTIN- The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) Coastal Fisheries Division is holding three meetings on the coast to seek public input on possible dates for 2019 private recreational red snapper season in federal waters.
AUSTIN – Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Inland Fisheries management staff are considering changes to regulations and harvest reporting requirements for alligator gar, Texas’ largest and longest-lived freshwater fish species.