AUSTIN, Texas — The March cover story in Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine offers 50 simple, fun ways for children and families to reconnect with the natural world. But it tracks a growing body of books and studies that reveal a serious mental, emotional, physical and educational issue: today’s kids are losing touch with nature.
PRESIDIO, Texas — Photo buffs still struggling to master their digital cameras and photo editing software can improve their abilities at the spring digital photo workshop April 25-27 at Big Bend Ranch State Park in deep West Texas.
AUSTIN, Texas — Austin sporting goods retailer and mainstay in Texas wildlife conservation Joe McBride has been named board chairman for Operation Game Thief.
HOUSTON — Are black bears coming back to East Texas? How are exotic invasive species affecting native Texas plants and animals? Are roads and highways having an effect on amphibian and reptile populations? Find out the answers to these questions and be a part of the implementation of the Texas Wildlife Action Plan during the 2008 Texas Wildlife Diversity Conference at the Houston Zoo’s Brown Education Center Jan.17 through Jan. 19, 2008.
KYLE, Texas — Across Texas, a seismic shift in land ownership is transforming the landscape. Bigger ranches are giving way to ranchettes, resulting in loss of open range and fragmentation of wildlife habitat. One solution is landowners banding together for common benefits, which is the focus of the Texas Organization of Wildlife Management Associations (TOWMA) annual conference Feb. 1-2 in Kyle south of Austin.
AUSTIN, Texas — If you love the outdoors and are looking for a job where you can make a difference in conserving Texas’ natural and cultural resources, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department may have just the job you’re looking for.
AUSTIN, Texas — Dangerous. That’s the word fire officials and rangeland management specialists use to describe the combination of heavy grass growth and dry conditions that exist now over much of Texas. Big rains in 2007 produced a lot of grass and other vegetation, which now amounts to dry tinder in much of the state.
EDITORS NOTE: In this issue of TPWD News, we forsake our usual format for the most part and provide a summary of the top news stories of 2007. Details about these topics can be found in the department’s online news archive. Please note that TPWD will not be distributing weekly news during the coming holidays. Weekly news distribution will resume on Jan. 14, 2008. Happy Holidays!
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas game wardens this month concluded an investigation into an illegal deer hunting ring in Southeast Texas, filing 247 criminal charges against 20 offenders.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Carter Smith was named executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department on Dec. 5 at a special meeting of the TPW Commission in San Antonio. Smith will be leaving the helm at The Nature Conservancy of Texas to take the top job at TPWD.