Tag: deer hunting regulations

Expanding Deer Hunting Opportunities in Grayson County

Deer Hunting in Grayson County

With an estimated statewide deer population of 4 million animals, many Texas hunters take white-tailed deer hunting for granted. However, there are still parts of the state where gun-hunting seasons does not exist. For example, the use of firearms for deer hunting in Grayson County is not allowed. That regulation may change soon.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is considering a proposal to open a general firearms deer season in Grayson County. A public scoping meeting to gather additional landowner and hunter feedback is scheduled in Grayson County on Thursday, January 8, 2009.

Grayson County Judge Drue Bynum has been invited to open the meeting. TPWD Executive Director Carter Smith will facilitate the remainder of the meeting, which will include a short presentation on TPWD’s regulations process. In addition, TPWD will explain the rationale for contemplating a gun deer season in Grayson County.

Large scale deer management is achieved through hunting regulations

The Grayson County general firearms deer season issue is part of an extensive suite of potential regulation changes in deer harvest TPWD is considering throughout much of the state. Like many state wildlife departments, TPWD uses hunting regulations to manage hunter harvest on a county level to achieve statewide deer management goals.

Due to increases in deer numbers across the state, and the continuous decline in the average number of animals harvested per hunter, TPWD has proposed more liberal hunting regulations for white-tailed deer over the past few years.

The meeting will take place at Grayson County College’s Center for Work Place Learning Auditorium near Sherman. The auditorium will open at 6 p.m. and the public meeting will begin at 7 p.m. All comments will be recorded and used for the final decision, which will take place at a public commission meeting at TPWD Austin headquarters on March 25-26, 2009. By the next season, those deer hunting in Grayson County may have another option soon.

TPWD Wants Comments on New Deer Hunting Regulations

Deer hunting regulations impact hunters and the deer populations that we hunt. Each year in every state, wildlife agencies examine current regulations and potentially propose changes to those regulations to better manage existing game populations. Several years ago, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) transitioned away from political boundaries for the purpose of monitoring white-tailed deer populations and went towards biologically-based vegetative communities, referred to as Resource Management Units (RMUs).

TPWD identified 33 unique RMUs across the state having similar soils, vegetation types, and land use practices that they believe will more accurately capture deer population dynamics. Their intent is to develop deer season bag limit frameworks based on these units, although regulations will be implemented based on county boundaries to avoid confusion among hunters.

Comment on Texas’ proposed hunting regulations

Recently, TPWD unveiled an extensive suite of potential regulation changes in deer harvest throughout much of the state. This includes an expansion of antler restrictions and buck harvest in additional counties. The department has begun gathering public input on the potential proposals during the next few months and present to the commission in January a comprehensive set of proposals. Those proposals will then go back out for official comment during a series of public hearings around the state next spring.

A final decision will be made by the commission at its March 25-26, 2009, public meeting. The changes that could be proposed are listed below and the online public comment period will last until 5:00 pm on January 14, 2009. Click here to make your comments now: Comment on potential TPWD regulations

  • Expansion of Antler Restriction Regulations into 52 additional counties
  • Bag Limit Changes: Baylor, Callahan, Haskell, Jones, Knox, Shackelford, Taylor, Throckmorton, and Wilbarger counties
  • Bag Limit Changes: Pecos, Terrell, and Upton counties
  • Bag Limit Changes: Most Cross Timbers and Prairies and Eastern Rolling Plains counties
  • Bag Limit Changes: Selected counties in the western rolling plains
  • General open season: Dawson, Deaf Smith, and Martin counties
  • Expansion of the late antlerless and spike season into additional counties
  • General open season (with antlerless harvest by permit only) in Grayson county
  • Additional antlerless deer harvest opportunities
  • Muzzleloader counties and season
  • Extending youth-only seasons