This year’s exceptional drought could have significant impacts on waterfowl this fall as habitats these migrants rely upon continue to degrade under a hot, dry Texas sun.

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.

As experts nervously watch mounting threats of record drought in Texas, several truths are evident: (1) when water won’t fall from the sky, what comes out of the ground is critical, (2) there are important things people can do to prepare to weather a drought, but when you’re in one the only quick fix is rain and (3) there are still parks, lakes and spring-fed rivers with water where folks can beat the dry heat.

A Dallas man and three fishing and hunting guides from Crockett have been charged with taking wildlife on private property without the landowner’s permission following a state game warden investigation into the death of a 13 foot, 1-inch alligator killed in Leon County.

At the very tip of South Texas in Estero Llano Grande State Park, Christopher Sandoval stands at a trail head waiting for visitors. Sandoval is interning this summer with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Restoration of 290 acres of bald cypress swamp, bottomland hardwood forest and savannah began on June 1 at Sheldon Lake State Park on the northeast side of Houston.

Natural resource trustees are planning early restoration to start addressing impacts to natural resources caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and they’re welcoming ideas for specific restoration and conservation projects in Texas.

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.

Wildscape, xeriscape, desertscape, water-wise, smartscape: whatever term you use, it’s all Texan for resource conservation. As residents seek ways to conserve water, native plant wildscaping can be an important part of the mix, since studies show lawn care accounts for over 50 percent of a household’s water usage.