AUSTIN – If enjoying cool, crisp evenings snuggled up to a crackling campfire or simply pitching a tent beneath the stars with your family sounds appealing, then head to a Texas State Park where you can watch the leaves turn and shooting stars light up the heavens while making lasting memories.
QUITAQUE—Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway and the Texas Bison Association are joining dozens of bison-friendly businesses and groups from around the country to celebrate the second annual National Bison Day this Saturday.
AUSTIN – The son of a former Upshur County commissioner arrested in October 2012 for holding a state game warden at gunpoint has pled guilty to one count of unlawful restraint, a Class A misdemeanor.
The following items are compiled from recent Texas Parks and Wildlife Department law enforcement reports.
AUSTIN — Young hunters will get the first shots during special youth-only hunting seasons for white-tailed deer, waterfowl and Rio Grande turkey Oct. 26-27.
Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service endorsed the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ Lesser Prairie-Chicken Range-Wide Conservation Plan, a landmark, collaborative planning effort to conserve a species proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
AUSTIN—A vegetation survey of Lake Austin by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) in September revealed that the exotic plant hydrilla was finally under control. The survey found no hydrilla. It also documented that 203 acres of aquatic vegetation habitat, mostly Eurasian watermilfoil (milfoil), was still present in the reservoir. In the June 2013 survey, there were 330 acres of hydrilla and 135 acres of milfoil. The successful control of hydrilla was a result of a science-based stocking plan of sterile Asian grass carp, which target hydrilla as their main food source.
ATHENS—In recent weeks, the Inland Fisheries Division of Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD) discovered a resurgence of the non-native aquatic plant water hyacinth at Lake Quitman. This plant is a free-floating (non-rooted) aquatic plant native to South America. It was originally introduced into North America in the late 1800s and has been widely spread around the country through the water garden and aquarium trade, and by boaters. The plant is popular with water garden enthusiasts primarily due to its attractive lavender or pink flower; however, water hyacinth is a prohibited plant in Texas and is illegal to sell or possess.
AUSTIN – Wildlife officials are reminding mule deer hunters and landowners in far West Texas about the protocols developed as part of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) Chronic Wasting Disease management plan. The plan includes mandatory check stations for harvested mule deer taken inside the CWD Containment Zone, which covers portions of Hudspeth, Culberson, and El Paso counties. See map of CWD zones at http://tpwd.texas.gov/cwd.
EL PASO – One of Texas’ most unique cultural resources will soon reap the benefits of environmentally friendly landscaping, thanks to support from Boeing, which recently awarded Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation a grant in support of native landscape restoration at Hueco Tanks State Park and Historic Site.