For an inexpensive, entry-level fishing experience the entire family can enjoy, it doesn’t get much easier than winter rainbow trout fishing in Texas.

The Nature Conservancy of Texas has purchased the 7,000-acre Fresno Ranch in far West Texas and plans to transfer it to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for the purchase price of about $2.6 million. The deal culminates 20 years of work to remove the largest remaining in-holding inside Texas’ biggest state park, expands hiking and public access, and protects desert springs, Rio Grande river frontage, diverse wildlife and rich cultural resources.

Texas’ newest state park and the eighth link in the World Birding Center chain stretching the breadth of the Rio Grande Valley — will host a grand opening celebration on Saturday, Dec. 6 in this border city.

What if you led a horse to water and it didn’t know how to drink? That odd challenge faces state parks trying to help an increasingly urban public understand nature and history. The good news is, this fall a rich array of new interpretive exhibits and facilities is available for families seeking holiday excursions close to home, thanks to increased funding from the Texas Legislature.

Nov. 30 is the deadline to submit nominations for the Lone Star Land Steward Awards, which recognize Texas private landowners who excel at habitat management and wildlife conservation on their lands.

More than 5,000 people took refuge from Hurricane Ike at 53 different state parks across Texas. Most of them, more than 2,000, stayed at Garner, including many from the Houston-Galveston area who vacation at the park each year.

The views from inside Palo Duro Canyon State Park, the United States’ second largest canyon, will remain grand thanks to the addition of a 2,912-acre property known as Fortress Cliffs Ranch. The tract has been purchased by a coalition that includes The Trust for Public Land (TPL) and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), protecting almost six miles of scenic cliffs along the park’s northeastern edge.

The views from inside Palo Duro Canyon State Park, the United States’ second largest canyon, will remain grand thanks to the addition of a 2,912-acre property known as Fortress Cliffs Ranch. The tract has been purchased by a coalition that includes The Trust for Public Land (TPL) and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), protecting almost six miles of scenic cliffs along the park’s northeastern edge.