Just in time for the annual white bass run, Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine is launching its first-ever online-only extra, “Texas Fishing 2012.”

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.

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.

Central Market and the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) have joined forces to bring wild game Cooking Specialist Chef Lisa Freeman into Central Market Cooking Schools to lead five February classes showcasing wild fish and game with award-winning olive oils. The classes will feature TPWD experts on hand to answer questions about game, conservation and the great outdoors.

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.

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.

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.

For hunters who do not have access to privately-owned land, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is providing low cost access  to nearly a million acres of department-managed lands for hunting, including most wildlife management areas, some state parks and many leased properties under the Annual Public Hunting permit program.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department today hosted 11 news conferences at different locations across the state, appealing to the public to visit state parks and make donations to help offset a revenue loss caused by heat, drought, wildfires and a resulting drop in park visitor revenue.