The following items are compiled from recent Texas Parks and Wildlife Department law enforcement reports.

Since Texas Parks and Wildlife Department launched a statewide appeal in early December for donations to aid a financially strapped Texas State Parks system, more than $1 million has been raised.

Dates for the highly-anticipated return of the Toyota Texas Bass Classic (TTBC), the world championship of professional bass fishing and country music festival, were announced today with all of the action set to begin Friday, Sept. 28.

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.

Today, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation board of trustees voted to donate $500,000 to Texas State Parks, hoping to encourage more donations to aid the state park system, which is facing a $4.6 million revenue shortfall caused by heat, drought, wildfires and a drop in park visitation.

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.

McKneely and Alexander fished all night December 18 into the morning of Monday, December 19.  Monday morning about 8:00 AM, they got a bite – a BIG bite.  After the fight, the two realized they had a shot to break the previous water body record of 55 lbs – ironically set December 23, 2001.

The thrilling conclusion of this year’s Toyota Texas Bass Classic will air nationally in over 75 million homes this Saturday at 1 p.m. Eastern (Noon Central) on Versus, a member of the NBC Sports Group. Following two days of fierce competition, an exciting finale awaits the national viewing audience as the final weigh-in promises a finish unlike any in tournament history.

The Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Trustees (Trustees) today released the Deepwater Horizon Draft Phase I Early Restoration Plan & Environmental Assessment (DERP/EA) for formal public comment. It is the first in an anticipated series of plans to begin restoration of the Gulf of Mexico to compensate for natural resource injuries, including the loss of human use of Gulf resources, from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.