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Committee hears bill creating pathway to remove high‑fence release sites with testing and notification requirements
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Summary
SB 2 031 would allow landowners to remove high‑fence release sites under conditions designed to reduce CWD risk—testing windows, a 5‑year waiting period since last release, visible identification on released deer, and TPWD certification at defined confidence intervals.
Senate Bill 2 031, carried by Senator Kolkhorst, would create a statutory pathway for landowners to remove a high fence around a release site (that previously received breeder deer) if specific safeguards are met. The bill requires that the release site have not had a positive CWD test, that five years have passed since the most recent captive deer release, and that each released deer bear visible identification. TPWD must certify the site is free of disease at a minimum 95 percent confidence interval over five years under certain conditions; a 99.1 percent confidence interval standard applies to sites with specified trace connections.
Witnesses in support included Bernadine Dittmar (representing long‑running native deer operations), Matt Wagner (Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society), the Texas Deer Association and Texas Wildlife Association. Proponents said the measure balances private property rights with disease protections for neighboring landowners. TPWD resource staff were present; stakeholders urged the agency have discretion and technical flexibility in applying confidence thresholds rather than rigid statutory formulas.
Committee members asked technical questions about the testing thresholds, time windows and the practical implications of the 95 percent/99.1 percent confidence standards for small release sites. Witnesses noted that small release sites with few released deer could require long testing horizons to meet the higher confidence thresholds; Jody Phillips and other breeders flagged that a 99.1 percent standard could effectively require many years of testing or large sample sizes for small past release counts.
Why it matters: The bill would provide a path to restore open range and alternative land uses for private owners while attempting to limit the risk of inadvertently spreading CWD into neighboring native herds.
Ending: The committee accepted testimony and left the bill pending for further work; sponsors said they would continue to refine technical thresholds and notification language.
