Posted By: jeh7mmmag
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department expands its options to hunters - 07/14/16 04:44 PM
Some good information on some new category's. And some stats on hunt apps
Opportunities to apply for drawings for permits to hunt nilgai, a non-native antelope, on three federal wildlife refuges in South Texas are part of this year's expanded public hunting program run by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
In a state where more than 97 percent of the landscape is privately owned and the right to access that property for hunting is almost universally sold to the highest bidder if it's allowed at all, a low-cost, high-quality hunting experience may be the toughest quarry Texas' million-plus hunters pursue.
Tens of thousands of Texas hunters - and a couple-thousand out-of-state hunters - find their best shot at an affordable hunt with at least a decent and often outstanding chance of success through the "drawn hunts" portion of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's public hunting program.
Those participating in TPWD's public hunting program, which this past week kicked its 2016-17 season into gear with the opening of its online operation, will have more options to target and almost 1,200 more chances to score one of the 8,705 hunt permits to be issued through a drawing of applications carrying only a $3-$10 per person fee.
MORE
http://www.chron.com/news/article/Texas-...#photo-10544999
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Opportunities to apply for drawings for permits to hunt nilgai, a non-native antelope, on three federal wildlife refuges in South Texas are part of this year's expanded public hunting program run by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
In a state where more than 97 percent of the landscape is privately owned and the right to access that property for hunting is almost universally sold to the highest bidder if it's allowed at all, a low-cost, high-quality hunting experience may be the toughest quarry Texas' million-plus hunters pursue.
Tens of thousands of Texas hunters - and a couple-thousand out-of-state hunters - find their best shot at an affordable hunt with at least a decent and often outstanding chance of success through the "drawn hunts" portion of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's public hunting program.
Those participating in TPWD's public hunting program, which this past week kicked its 2016-17 season into gear with the opening of its online operation, will have more options to target and almost 1,200 more chances to score one of the 8,705 hunt permits to be issued through a drawing of applications carrying only a $3-$10 per person fee.
MORE
http://www.chron.com/news/article/Texas-...#photo-10544999
snip
Quote:
Switch to online
That 2013-14 season was the final season the agency used a paper-based system for its draw hunt program. In 2014-15, the agency switched to a wholly online system for applications and required electronic payment of fees. The move, which included scrapping the annual printed booklet listing hunts, included application cards and was mailed to all persons who had entered drawing the previous season, saved TPWD more than $100,000, agency staff said.
This past year, the program loosened rules that had limited persons to applying for only one hunt within a specific category. Hunters are now allowed to apply for as many hunts within a single category as they want. That liberalization spurred much of the increase in applications seen this past year.
That increased interest and participation reached beyond Texas' borders. This past year, 2,005 hunters from outside Texas, including hunters from every state except Rhode Island, submitted applications for the state's public hunt drawings, Dreibelbis said.
That 2013-14 season was the final season the agency used a paper-based system for its draw hunt program. In 2014-15, the agency switched to a wholly online system for applications and required electronic payment of fees. The move, which included scrapping the annual printed booklet listing hunts, included application cards and was mailed to all persons who had entered drawing the previous season, saved TPWD more than $100,000, agency staff said.
This past year, the program loosened rules that had limited persons to applying for only one hunt within a specific category. Hunters are now allowed to apply for as many hunts within a single category as they want. That liberalization spurred much of the increase in applications seen this past year.
That increased interest and participation reached beyond Texas' borders. This past year, 2,005 hunters from outside Texas, including hunters from every state except Rhode Island, submitted applications for the state's public hunt drawings, Dreibelbis said.