Proposed regulations under consideration by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department would enlist anglers and boaters in the fight to prevent further spread of exotic aquatic species into Texas waterways.

If you’re a saltwater angler and don’t like the idea of hundreds of abandoned crab traps catching and killing game fish you could have landed, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is looking for volunteers willing to help get rid of these derelict traps along the coast.

As Texas approaches the winter season and temperatures drop, many anglers continue to enjoy great fishing on coastal bays. However, when temperatures on the coast are predicted to fall below 32°F for three or more days, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) executive director has the authority to close some areas to saltwater fishing until the threat from the freeze event is over.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has scheduled five scoping meetings this winter, starting Nov. 30, about two possible regulation changes for 2012. The scoping items include consideration of a new state scientific area to protect seagrass in the Laguna Madre near the John F. Kennedy Memorial Causeway in Nueces County, and a clarification of emergency rules to protect fish during coastal freezes.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will hold initial scoping meetings and take online comments this winter about two possible regulations changes for 2012, depending on stakeholder input—a new state scientific area to protect seagrass in the Laguna Madre near the John F. Kennedy Memorial Causeway in Nueces County, and a clarification of emergency rules to protect fish during coastal freezes.

Louisiana and Texas have taken a big step to share consistent recreational fishing regulations governing their bordering waters. The new regulations are scheduled to go into effect on Sept. 1, 2011. Biologists from the two states have agreed upon regulations that are biologically sound and consistent on both sides of the boundary.

As experts nervously watch mounting threats of record drought in Texas, several truths are evident: (1) when water won’t fall from the sky, what comes out of the ground is critical, (2) there are important things people can do to prepare to weather a drought, but when you’re in one the only quick fix is rain and (3) there are still parks, lakes and spring-fed rivers with water where folks can beat the dry heat.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has been awarded $813,068 for the first year of a potential three year grant totaling $2.4 million from the United States Department of Agriculture to improve public access to wildlife recreation on private land. The grant is funded through the USDA’s Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program, or VPA-HIP.

Getting credit for catching a record fish in Texas is easier than you may think, especially if you’re a youngster.  Better still from a conservation standpoint, you can hang a nice Texas Parks and Wildlife certificate on your wall instead of a mounted trophy.

Survey results show last year’s giant salvinia public awareness campaign by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department reached more than half of boaters living within 60 miles of four East Texas lakes targeted in the effort and that 96 percent of those boaters said they were “more likely to clean their boat, trailer or gear as a result of seeing information or advertising.”