Austin -

Anyone looking forward to operating a motor-powered vessel, sailboat or personal water craft on Texas public waters this year needs to have completed a state-approved boater education course if born after Sept. 1, 1993.

Austin -

Texas Parks and Wildlife will be hosting two scoping meetings in North Texas this month to get public feedback on a pair of proposed new regulations aimed at preventing the spread of exotic aquatic species in the state.

Athens -

Student artists across Texas in grades K — 12 take notice: It’s time to start preparing your entries for the 2012 Wildlife Forever State-Fish Art Contest.  The contest is open to all students in public, private or home schools. Entry deadline is March 31 each year.

Athens -

When Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine publisher Randy Brudnicki planned a fishing trip to Falcon International Reservoir with his sons Jason and Dustin for the week after Christmas, he knew the time was right to catch a Toyota ShareLunker.

Texas -

On Dec. 5, the NRA filed its opening appellate brief on behalf of several law-abiding young adults challenging the federal ban on dealer sales of handguns and handgun ammunition to persons between the ages of 18 and 20. The case is Jennings v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and will be heard in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. (A similar case challenging Texas' age limit of 21 for issuance of concealed handgun licenses remains pending in the trial court.)

FAIRFAX, Va. -

The second season of Outdoor Channel’s new hit Friends of NRA TV show debuts on Sunday, January 1 at 10:00 pm Eastern Time. The show follows the adventures of champion shooter Jessie Harrison and retired baseball player Matt Duff as they delve into the inner workings of Friends of NRA, a multi-million dollar grassroots fundraising program.

PORT ARTHUR -

The Texas Department of State Health Services today advised limiting consumption of gafftopsail (gafftop) catfish from the Texas waters of Sabine Lake because of concerns about chemicals known as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls). PCBs are known to cause cancer and neurobehavioral and immunological changes in animals.

Texas -

Safari Club International (SCI) has learned that, within the next few weeks, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service expects to publish a final version of the rule regarding the fate of the scimitar-horned oryx, dama gazelle and addax. 

Texas -

Here are some of the top stories we brought you in the NRA-ILA Grassroots Alert in 2011.  With what will be a critically important 2012, we must increase our efforts to ensure we're prepared to meet the great opportunities and challenges we will face next year.  We will continue to provide you with information in future Alerts to ensure our mutual success.

Athens -

Andrew Watson of Highland Village caught the first entry of the 26th Toyota ShareLunker season December 27, 2011, from Lake Fork.  Watson and his father were fishing under the Texas 154 bridge for crappie using live minnows when the 13.51-pound largemouth bass began taking their minnows.