TPWD News |Â August 15, 2016
AUSTIN – More validation that everything’s bigger and better in Texas, dove populations are soaring and the hunting season, which gets underway Sept. 1, is the longest in 80 years.
A new 90-day season this fall means hunters will have 20 more days of opportunity compared with previous years. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is integrating those additional days early in the season to take advantage of mourning dove migrating into the state, as well as at the end of the season in the Special White-winged Dove Area to offer more bird hunting opportunities.
“Hunters will now be able to take advantage of those northern birds riding early November cool fronts into Texas, without sacrificing days of opportunity early in the season,†said Dave Morrison, TPWD Small Game Program Director. “We’ve also tacked on extra days to the back end of the season in late January when South Texas prospects are still pretty solid. It’s a win-win for dove hunters.â€
Roughly 10 percent of the nation’s 350 million mourning dove reside in Texas, along with about 9 million white-winged dove. Each fall, over 415,000 Texas dove hunters take to the field in pursuit of these acrobatic, fast-flying game birds. Based on field observations by TPWD wildlife biologists, prospects for the 2016-17 hunting season are good to excellent. Read more…
Also: Sportsmen Reminded to Buy Texas Hunting, Fishing Licenses: AUSTIN – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) reminds hunters and anglers that the new 2016-2017 licenses go on sale Monday. All current year Texas hunting and fishing licenses (except year-to-date fishing licenses) expire Aug. 31. Read more…