LUBBOCK, Texas — A new brochure titled "A Shared Future" details how the lesser prairie-chicken is an indicator of rangeland health and part of the West Texas heritage, how it could affect agriculture and rural property if the bird is listed as threatened or endangered, and what landowners and others can do to conserve wildlife habitat and safeguard the region’s economy, outdoor recreation opportunities and natural legacy.
AUSTIN, Texas — Duck hunters in Texas will once again get the liberal waterfowl season with a 74-day season and six bird daily bag limit framework during the 2009-2010 general waterfowl seasons, but mottled ducks will be off the table during the first five days. The framework has been approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and is pending adoption by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission at its Aug. 27 public meeting.
AUSTIN, Texas — Despite extended drought conditions across much of Texas, wildlife biologists with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department suggest there has been enough moisture to set the stage for good hunting this dove season.
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.