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.

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.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is reminding hunters the deadline to enter this year’s Big Time Texas Hunts is Oct. 15. Winners will be called before the end of October to give them time to make their hunting trip preparations.

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 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is seeking online public input as the department revises its six-year-old wildlife action plan, a document now called the Texas Conservation Action Plan.