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Texas Boat Registration

Boaters gearing up for summer fun on the water in Texas are reminded about the need for boat registration and boat and outboard motor titling. Also, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has a new Web service that started in March which allows boat owners to renew online. Boat owners can now eliminate the drive and renew an existing boat registration listed in their name using a credit card online. They can also update their address and order additional ID cards when renewing online. This service is available to boats titled and registered through Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, but is not available to boats documented (titled) through the United States Coast Guard, as they must provide proof of current documentation for registration.

Boat owners can also register by providing all forms and supporting documents, any required application fees, and any boat/outboard motor taxes at TPWD headquarters in Austin or any of the 27 TPWD law enforcement (game warden) field offices throughout the state or at participating county Tax Assessor-Collector Offices. To find participating offices, check the TPWD Web site. Most boats are required by law to have current registration when on Texas public water, including vessels that are docked or moored. Texas registration is required for motorized boats of any length (including those with trolling motors), sailboats 14 feet in length or longer or sailboats with auxiliary engines, plus U.S. Coast Guard documented vessels. Continue reading Texas Boat Registration

Brazos Bend State Park Turns 25!

An alligator crosses the road at Brazos Bend State Park

Scores of visitors turned out for a day of pleasant weather and numerous activities this past Saturday at Brazos Bend State Park, as the 5,000-acre park celebrated its 25-year history as a flagship recreation destination near the Houston metro area. Park staff—both past and present—were acknowledged, as was the Brazos Bend State Park Volunteer Organization, which contributes hundreds of service hours each year. Along with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Executive Director Carter Smith and State Parks Director Walt Dabney, dignitaries on hand included two state legislators. “I think Brazos Bend is a wonderful jewel that we need to preserve,” said Senator Joan Huffman of Houston, adding “it’s a wonderful getaway within a short drive for people in the city, so they can just come out here and enjoy nature.”

Representative Dora Olivo of Rosenberg said, “I think Brazos Bend State Park represents the tranquility, beauty and peace that we all need for our lives. The birds, the trees, the leaves rustling—this park is a chance to really appreciate nature, and it’s a chance to protect the beauty and sacredness of nature as well, not only for those of us now, but also for future generations.”

Wildlife Management: Soybeans for Deer

Soybeans can be great for supplementing white-tailed deer. Soybeans are warm season legumes that require more fertilization with additional phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in order to provide a high level of protein and growth. Forunately, soybeans can be easily planted from seed and will germinate in only a few days if adequate moisture is present. In addition, the beans can be fed directly to whitetail if purchased in bags. Whole soybeans can be purchased in the “raw” or roasted form.

Soybeans are often eaten in food plots by whitetail in both the foliage stage (green beans) and after the beans have matured. Some varieties of beans can easily reseed after the seed falls to the ground. A few varieties will produce plant material into the late season up until frost. Inoculation improves growth by allowing the plants to develop their own nitrogen. Continue reading Wildlife Management: Soybeans for Deer

Great Land Management Takes Getting Involved

Learn how to manage habitats and wildlife

It can be awful lonesome out there, facing the challenges and opportunities of working with the land. But holistic land managers have a tool that not only provides someone to talk to who really understands what they are doing, but a social and practical network of problem solving, brain-storming, and the camaraderie of like-minded friends. If you could use some input on the best wildlife management practices on your property, think about getting involved in a management club.

Management clubs all over the world have brought managers together in regional groups who are likely to face some of the same social, economic, and ecological challenges. The design of the clubs and what they actually do when they gather varies with the club. Each one designs itself. The Red River Graziers, for example, meet at a different member’s place each month. The host takes the group on a tour, pointing out the areas where he could use some ideas. Everyone chews on it awhile as they chew on lunch (usually self-provided or potluck). The afternoon is spent creating a list of practices that are working, those to stop doing, and those new one to incorporate. Continue reading Great Land Management Takes Getting Involved

Choke Canyon Fishing: A Big Bass Bonanza!

Choke Canyon produces another big bass

Choke Canyon Reservoir continued its big bass bonanza March 20 with another ShareLunker, a 13.12-pounder caught by Joseph B. Thoman, Jr., of Farmersville, Louisiana. The angler was fishing in the Texas Bass Club for the Deaf tournament when he caught the bass, which was 25.25 inches long and 21.25 inches in girth. At the same time, the Bass Champs South Region team tournament, also taking place on Choke Canyon on Saturday, weighed in two potential ShareLunkers at the Calliham Store. Store owner Brian W. Loy certified the weights as 14.47 and 15.27 pounds. Unfortunately, neither of those two fish survived.

No tournament has ever weighed in more than one 13-pound-plus fish, and the fact that two tournaments on the same lake produced three in two days is extremely good news for Texas fishing, especially Choke Canyon anglers. Big bass are there! However, the deaths of the two big fish has generated quite a bit of discussion both within Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the tournament industry about ways to avoid similar tragedies in the future. Continue reading Choke Canyon Fishing: A Big Bass Bonanza!

Neches River National Wildlife Refuge is a Go!

Neches National Wildlife Refuge versus Fastrill Reservoir

Wildlife supporters have something to smile about. On Thursday, March 12, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court decision in favor of creating the Neches River National Wildlife Refuge. The court ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acted legally in creating the refuge and denied an appeal by the City of Dallas and Texas Water Development Board, in effect precluding their ability to construct the proposed Fastrill Reservoir in the same footprint as the wildlife refuge. A coalition of environmentalists quickly hailed the court decision as a victory, but noted the legal battle may not be over.

However, the Dallas newspaper reported March 13 it was “unclear whether the city will attempt to have the case heard again by the entire panel of 5th Circuit judges or seek a hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court.” We can only hope this ads to our great National Wildlife Refuge system.

Case Shows How Easy CWD Could Spread

CWD could spread easier than you think

Criminal charges recently filed against a father and son who ran a Kent County deer farm provide a shocking look at just how easy chronic wasting disease (CWD) might have spread to Michigan’s wild deer herd. Michigan Department of Natural Resources agents say a day after CWD was confirmed in a deer from their herd, the pair crept onto their quarantined farm at midnight, tranquilized a deer and loaded it into a trailer. DNR agents watching the property say they saw it all. When stopped on a road, the two told DNR officers they planned to release the deer into the wild. They didn’t have proper paperwork for the deer, and wanted to get rid of it. However, tests later showed the deer free of CWD.

The DNR recently said that it may have found the source of the always-fatal disease that’s similar to mad cow disease. The taxidermy shop next to the Kent County deer farm had accepted two deer from customers who illegally brought them from CWD zones in South Dakota and Wyoming. Continue reading Case Shows How Easy CWD Could Spread