President Obama signed the $32.2 billion Interior, Environment and Related Agencies fiscal year 2010 (FY10) appropriations bill into law on October 30.   The bill provides a 17 percent increase in spending from last year’s appropriation for most of the natural resources and environmental agencies in the federal government, reports the Wildlife Management Institute. 

Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Max Baucus (D-MT) have introduced legislation to permanently provide $900 million to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). The program will provide $450 million annually to states and local communities for close-to-home parks and outdoor recreation facilities.

For several years, the Texas chapter of the national Children & Nature Network has been exploring ways to reconnect families and children with nature and the outdoors. The national movement grew out of Richard Louv’s 2006 book “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder.”

The Texas Legislature proposed a constitutional amendment that if approved by voters in the Nov. 3 election will improve private property rights in the state. Proposition 11 critics say it is "counterfeit eminent domain reform."

Parks and recreation facilities around the country received good news on Thursday when the House and Senate Interior Appropriations Conference Committee announced the allocation of $40 million to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Stateside Assistance Program for fiscal year 2010.

Companion bills introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate in early October are intended to maintain recreational fishing, hunting and shooting on federal public lands and ensure continued opportunities for these activities, reports the Wildlife Management Institute. 

Both chambers of Congress passed conference agreement legislation on Fiscal Year 2010 appropriations for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that include substantial funding boosts for conservation programs, according to the Wildlife Management Institute.

A mountain lion was spotted behind an El Paso County hospital adjacent to Franklin Mountain. It was “just sitting there” and would not leave, a caller reported. El Paso Game Warden Ray Spears enlisted the assistance of Game Warden Mike Legarretta, and they arrived to find not one but two mountain lions (perhaps a mother and a large offspring).

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a fatal, degenerative brain wasting of elk, white-tailed and mule deer, has not been detected in Texas, but maintaining surveillance for the condition is essential for animal disease response and trade purposes.  The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), the state’s livestock and poultry health regulatory agency, has proposed new regulations to ensure adequate CWD surveillance of captive and free-ranging elk moved within the state. 

With arcade-style scoring, an arsenal of authentic Remington shotguns, and more than 50 trophies and power-ups to earn, Remington Great American Bird Hunt is a fast-paced and fun take on the sport of bird hunting. Remington Great American Bird Hunt challenges players to hunt through 60 levels of birds including turkeys, ducks, grouse and pheasants.