Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission adopts CWD response rules, expands oyster restoration authority and approves $31 million in local park grants

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission on Jan. 23 adopted a set of chronic wasting disease (CWD) detection and response rules, approved changes to oyster “certificates of location” to allow their use for reef restoration, authorized new permitable species for commercial freshwater harvest, approved a request to exceed capital transfer limits to buy replacement body armor for law-enforcement divisions, and approved staff funding recommendations totaling $30,929,771 for 50 local park grants.

The agenda item that drew the most public attention and debate was the CWD package, which the commission adopted after wide-ranging public comment and hours of testimony from hunters, deer breeders, conservation groups and legislators. The changes remove the existing zone-based “containment” approach and instead impose new testing, double-fencing and visible-identification requirements for certain breeder facilities, while creating pathways for some facilities to remain movement-qualified if they meet the new standards.

The CWD rules were pitched by Alan Kane, Volok division director for TPWD, as a move away from recurring emergency rulemaking and toward a risk-based, science-informed approach that ‘‘removes burdens on hunters and landowners and . . . provides expanded business opportunities for deer breeders while still ensuring practical and effective science-based measures’’ to limit spread. Supporters from conservation and hunting groups said the revisions give regulators better tools and transparency. Opponents, including multiple deer breeders and some legislators, said the measures are overly burdensome, will harm small operators and asked that the commission delay adoption to allow more stakeholder work.

Separately, the commission approved amendments to rules governing oyster “certificates of location” (COLs) to mirror recent changes in the Parks and Wildlife Code and to create a distinct category of COLs for reef restoration (non-harvest) in addition to harvestable COLs. TPWD staff said the change allows siting of restoration COLs on degraded reefs, clarifies marking and mapping standards, and waives rental fees for restoration COLs while maintaining application/renewal processes. Industry and conservation speakers…