The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission today approved a staff recommendation to protect seagrass in the Laguna Madre near the John F. Kennedy Memorial Causeway in Nueces County through a voluntary education and outreach program.

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.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department  (TPWD) will hold initial scoping meetings and take public comment on the potential  designation of a segment of the San Marcos River as a new State Scientific Area to protect federally endangered Texas wild-rice and its habitat.

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.

With hundreds of thousands of Texans getting ready for opening day of the general gun season for white-tailed deer on Nov. 5, it’s important to keep safety in your crosshairs.

Chris Bird, a state game warden based in Wharton County, has been named Officer of the Year by the Association of Midwest Fish and Game Law Enforcement Officers.

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.