The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission today approved a 2012 budget that reflects a 21.5 percent cut in Texas Parks and Wildlife Department funding over the next two years. The agency is trying to limit impacts on the public involving state parks, fisheries and wildlife, and leaders say there are ways people can help.

Hunters who need to take the mandatory hunter education course are urged to start looking for courses in their area now as classes are expected to fill up quickly leading up to dove season Sept. 1.

Dry conditions don’t necessarily equate to bad dove hunting, wildlife biologists with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department suggest. An extended drought across much of Texas could be beneficial for dove hunters as birds will have to rely upon limited resources.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service SRC (Service Regulation Committee) has approved the 2011-2012 Texas early migratory game bird seasons, including a 70-day season and 15-bird daily bag statewide for dove, a 16-day early season for teal and Canada geese.

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.

To a waterfowl hunter, a duck band is a treasured find. Affixed to a duck call lanyard, these rare small metal rings become testaments of the hunter’s skill or luck and reinforce the conservation success story they represent.

The cactus moth (Cactoblastis cactorum), a non-native insect species from South America, is spreading westward along the Gulf Coast towards Texas. The invasive pest could do significant economic and ecological damage if it reaches Texas, and authorities trying to monitor the path of the moth are asking the public to help prevent it from spreading.

As thousands of hunters flock to their bird leases for the opening day of dove season in the North and Central Zones Wednesday, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is going to be trying something new.

The Lone Star State has a lot of land that’s primed for hunting and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is offering outdoors enthusiasts the chance to win several hunts of a lifetime.