AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Game Warden George Whatley, 45, died yesterday in Fort Stockton after collapsing following a training exercise. Whatley was participating in a physical agility test along with 10 other West Texas wardens when he was stricken.
AUSTIN, Texas — NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries Service) Oct. 8 announced a temporary authorization affecting shrimp trawlers who are required to use turtle excluder devices (TEDs) in certain state and federal waters off Texas. The authorization will allow shrimp trawlers in the affected areas to use restricted tow times instead of TEDs due to the large numbers of debris left by Hurricane Ike.
ATHENS, Texas-Most anglers probably know that many fish caught from deep water can suffer from an over-inflated swim bladder, a condition called hyperbuoyancy. The air bladder inside the fish that inflates and deflates to give the fish neutral buoyancy can expand suddenly when a fish is brought to the surface after being caught. This puts pressure on other internal organs and may even lead to the stomach protruding from the fish’s body.
ATHENS, Texas-Texas students in grades 4 through 12 are invited to enter the eleventh annual Wildlife Forever State-Fish Art Contest. Deadline for entries is March 31, 2009.
ATHENS, Texas-John True of Dallas kicked off the 2008-2009 Budweiser ShareLunker season October 3 with a 13.38-pound largemouth bass from a private lake in Rusk County.
AUSTIN, Texas — Hurricane Ike’s big storm surge caused hundreds of localized oil and hazardous materials spills that pose threats to fish and wildlife, and it pushed saltwater into upper coast freshwater wetlands that support migrating waterfowl and estuarine life. But ecological damage to coastal habitats may not be as widespread or severe as some had initially feared.
AUSTIN, Texas — Hurricane Ike, which devastated communities and residents of the upper Texas Gulf coast Sept. 12-13 may ultimately prove beneficial to the marine organisms that also call the area home.
AUSTIN, Texas — A new position called deputy executive director for natural resources at Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will bring more scientific and policy expertise to help lead several agency divisions facing large-scale conservation challenges, such as water resources for people and wildlife, changing demographics of private landownership, invasive species, climate change, declining and fragmented fish and wildlife habitats, and evolving outdoor recreation trends.
ATHENS, Texas-Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will begin accepting entries into the Budweiser ShareLunker program Oct.1.
East Texas appeared to have dodged a bullet by this Tuesday, as thousands of evacuees returned to their homes, hundreds of Texas game wardens prepared to de-mobilize and several state parks that had closed prepared to reopen in the wake of Hurricane Gustav’s passage.