Flood Impact Alert
As floodwaters recede across the state, conditions remain dynamic. Learn about the impact of flooding on state parks, wildlife and lost vessels.
AUSTIN, Texas — Texans still looking to take a summer trek amid a sputtering economy without breaking the bank need look no further than a nearby Texas state park for an affordable and enjoyable vacation destination. To help you plan and make the most of a visit to many of the state’s natural and cultural gems, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department offers two new, free publications.
AUSTIN, Texas — A small, single-engine private plane crashed and caught fire around 10:15 a.m. today near the public airfield inside Lake Whitney State Park. The sole occupant, the pilot, was transported in stable condition to Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth.
AUSTIN, Texas — Visitation to more than 90 Texas state parks, up significantly in June compared to last year, remains steady this summer, even as much of central and south Texas suffers with above-normal temperatures and severe drought conditions that have negatively impacted river flows and lake levels, and sent all but the hardiest campers indoors.
AUSTIN, Texas — A scorching one-two punch of prolonged low rainfall and record high temperatures in central and southern Texas is stressing fish and other aquatic creatures, especially rare species that depend on spring flows, and decreased river flows are sending salt content in mid-coast bays soaring. Nonetheless, biologists say fishing is actually good in many parts of Texas, and some fisheries could even improve long-term.
WASHINGTON-ON-THE-BRAZOS, Texas — Barrington Living History Farm in Washington County northwest of Houston seems a little emptier this week.
ATHENS, Texas — Texas anglers and boaters get it: Invasive aquatic species are a real and growing threat to their ability to do what they love to do-but they don’t have to stand by and watch it happen.
Brownsville, Texas — Some exciting news for entomologists: a new species of tree cricket has been found in the United States. On May 16, 2009, Nancy Collins from Wisconsin and Laurel Symes, a PhD candidate at Dartmouth University, heard a tree cricket sing at Resaca de la Palma State Park and World Birding Center in Brownsville. On a return trip in June they found another cricket at Bentsen Rio Grande State Park, another World Birding Center in Mission. Further analysis by Dr. Thomas J. Walker, Professor Emeritus, University of Florida-Gainesville, revealed that it was an unnamed species of Oecanthus. Collins says that it will be called Alexander’s tree cricket, in respect of R. D. Alexander who first discovered them in Mexico in the 1960s.
AUSTIN, Texas — In preparation for implementation of new legislation, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission has adopted rules allowing hunters to use crossbows during the upcoming special archery-only hunting season and authorizing persons with documented physical disabilities to use laser sighting devices.
AUSTIN, Texas — Research surveys show that finding a place to hunt is a barrier for many people in today’s Texas, which is why Texas Parks and Wildlife Department created the Hunt Texas Online Connection, a free Web service that allows anyone to view hunting opportunities posted by private landowners across the state.
AUSTIN, Texas — For the past month and a half, Cynthia Kelly wakes up each morning to a different variety of fish to study or a new slice of coastal habitat near Corpus Christi to explore. She’s one of four student interns working this summer with the Coastal Fisheries Division of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department up and down the Texas coast.