LA GRANGE— The historic Kreische House, located within Monument Hill and Kreische Brewery State Historic Site, will be entering the next project phase of preservation efforts as a comprehensive condition assessment nears completion. The assessment included studies with extensive testing and analysis to gauge the integrity of the structure and to identify public access concerns before major restoration work gets underway.
AUSTIN— Planning a day or overnight trip to a Texas State Park just got easier with new online features available in the Texas State Parks reservation system. The new options allow visitors to reserve a specific campsite, buy day passes in advance and buy or renew a Texas State Parks Pass online.
AUSTIN— The Texas State Parks reservation system is continuing maintenance and remains temporarily offline. All existing reservations are secure, but park customers will not be able to create or modify a reservation until maintenance is complete.
AUSTIN – In February 2017, Marine Creek Lake produced the first ever confirmed Toyota ShareLunker offspring entered in the program, a major milestone in the program’s effort to create bigger, better bass in Texas. Two years later, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologists confirmed that ShareLunker 577, a 14.57 pound bass caught at Marine Creek Lake Jan. 26, is a full sibling to the 2017 Marine Creek Lake fish, both stocked from the same group of selectively bred largemouth bass 13 years ago.
DEL RIO— Devils River State Natural Area has been designated an International Dark Sky Sanctuary by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), making it the only Dark Sky Sanctuary in Texas. As the sixth International Dark Sky Sanctuary to receive the title, Devils River SNA is recognized as a one of the darkest and most ecologically fragile sites in the world.
AUSTIN – Angler Zach Sypert of Bedford caught the first Legacy Class largemouth bass of the 2019 Toyota ShareLunker season out of Marine Creek Lake in Fort Worth Jan. 26. The 14.57 pound, 27 inch largemouth bass is the second 13 pound or larger Toyota ShareLunker to have been caught from the lake in the last two years and outweighs the previous water body record set in 2018 by almost two pounds.
LA PORTE, TX—The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is adding more than 23-acres to the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site bordering on the Houston Ship Channel.
AUSTIN— The Texas State Parks reservation system will be down for maintenance starting at 11 p.m., Fri. Jan. 25. All advanced reservations will be unavailable during this time. Maintenance is expected to be completed in less than a week.
ATHENS – The Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame committee announced Alan Haynes of Tyler, the former C.E.O and President of The Sportster Inc. retail sporting goods chain and lifelong sportsman, will be inducted into the hall of fame in 2019.
AUSTIN –The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is expanding public fishing and paddling opportunities on the Llano River with four public access sites opening just in time for winter trout stocking this month.