AUSTIN – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission adopted a suite of changes to this year’s deer hunting regulations that includes expanding white-tailed deer hunting into 14 counties across the western Panhandle, and creating additional deer hunting opportunities in East Texas.
AUSTIN – Next month, hundreds of birders will flock to the coast, forests, prairies and mountains of Texas to compete in the nation’s biggest, longest and wildest bird watching tournament. The registration deadline for the 20th annual Great Texas Birding Classic, which runs from April 15 to May 15, is April 1.
AUSTIN – At Thursday’s Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Executive Director Carter Smith recognized Texas Game Warden Ellis Powell as the National Wild Turkey Federation’s Texas Wildlife Officer of the Year.
AUSTIN – With a good crop of birds last year combined with a healthy stock of mature gobblers, this year’s spring turkey season holds plenty of opportunity for hunters willing to put in the time afield, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD).
ALPINE— In a continued effort to boost a struggling mule deer population in parts of the Big Bend region of far West Texas, 75 female mule deer were recently relocated from Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area (WMA) and two private ranches in Brewster County to the Black Gap Wildlife WMA and adjacent El Carmen Land & Conservation Company (ECLCC) – CEMEX USA and Cuenca Los Ojos property.
Aerial surveys for lesser prairie-chickens will begin March 17 and run through mid-May in Texas and four other states containing habitat the bird needs to thrive. The surveys are conducted annually by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) to ascertain population trends and how the bird is responding to management strategies identified in the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Range-wide Conservation Plan.
AUSTIN – A free-ranging mule deer buck, harvested in Hartley County, has been confirmed positive for CWD. State officials received confirmation today from the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa.
AUSTIN – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is seeking public comment on proposed changes to the state’s hunting and fishing regulations for 2016-17.
AUSTIN — The continuation of the Trans-Pecos Pronghorn Restoration Project progressed with another successful relocation of 112 pronghorn in late January.
AUSTIN – A 3 1/2-year-old captive raised white-tailed buck harvested in early January by a hunter from a release site on a ranch in Medina and Uvalde counties has been confirmed positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD). The deer’s origin has been identified as an onsite deer breeding facility and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) are conducting an epidemiological investigation.