AUSTIN, Texas — New exhibits and activities about springs, rivers, bays and beaches; wildlife conservation; Texas history at state parks; nature photography and more will debut Oct. 1-2 at America’s largest free, family-oriented festival of the outdoors. The 14th annual Texas Parks & Wildlife Expo will allow tens of thousands of visitors to try fishing, shooting, kayaking, mountain biking, rock climbing and more, all at no cost.
AUSTIN, Texas — New hunting and fishing licenses for 2005-06 will be available beginning Monday, Aug. 15, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is reminding customers to be aware of some significant changes. All current annual hunting and fishing licenses expire on Aug. 31.
HOUSTON — State biologists are asking coastal anglers, boaters and homeowners to report fish kills occurring on the upper and central Texas coast caused by summer heat, low water flow and resulting low dissolved oxygen in the water.
AUSTIN, Texas — Years of work to control the nuisance exotic plant hydrilla in Lake Austin on the Colorado River have reduced the hydrilla infestation to its lowest level since it was discovered here in 1999, a result that bodes well for dozens of other Texas lakes facing similar threats.
UNDATED — A former regional director who has a long history of working on Texas conservation issues has been tapped to become the new director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Washington DC.
LUBBOCK, Texas — A largemouth bass landed June 10 on Lake Alan Henry by Kenny Schuette, 11, of Slaton, southwest of Lubbock has been verified as a new junior state record by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
The following are excerpts from recent Texas Parks and Wildlife Department law enforcement reports.
ATHENS, Texas — Urban fishing is due to improve during the next few years as Texas Parks and Wildlife Department ramps up its Texas Urban Fishing (TUF) program in small lakes located in urban areas throughout the state.
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will hold four evening workshops along the coast in July to answer questions and explain details about changes required by new laws that affect Gulf of Mexico shrimp and commercial oyster licenses and fishery management.
GALVESTON, Texas — A Texas effort to restore hundreds of acres of ecologically important wetlands in the Delehide Cove area of West Galveston Bay will receive one of two National Wetland Conservation Awards to be bestowed this year at a June 30 ceremony in Washington, D.C.