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.

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 (TPWD) has scheduled five scoping meetings this winter, starting Nov. 30, about two possible regulation changes for 2012. The scoping items include consideration of 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.

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.

The drought has taken a toll on all Texas wildlife resources, but among the hardest hit is the bobwhite quail. This iconic grassland game bird already faces mounting obstacles to recovery and state wildlife officials say the drought is exacerbating the problem.

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 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.

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.

The Llano River in Texas has been named one of 10 “Waters to Watch” for 2011 in the National Fish Habitat Action Plan. The watch list doesn’t necessarily indicate waters in trouble, but points to those that will benefit from strategic conservation efforts to protect, restore or enhance them, thus providing models for good work elsewhere.