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Commission to consider annual open season on public hunting lands and hunts on state parks
Summary
TPWD staff proposed establishing an open season on public hunting lands from Sept. 1, 2025 to Aug. 31, 2026, and proposed public hunts on 52 state park units; staff requested placing the items on the Thursday agenda for public comment and action.
Kevin Mote, (presented as Kevin Mote in the transcript), director of the Lands and Public Hunting Program, told the commission staff will ask for approval to establish an open season on public hunting lands for Sept. 1, 2025–Aug. 31, 2026 and to approve specific public hunting activities on state park units.
Staff proposed hunts on 52 state-park units for the 2025–26 season and said they would draw 32 hunt groups (each comprised of one to four hunters) and a substantial number of individual hunt positions; staff noted a portion of positions would be reserved for youth hunters. As of 5:00 p.m. the day before the work session, staff had received six public comments (five in complete agreement and one not germane to the proposal), Mote said. TPWD staff recommended placing the open-season item and park-hunt approvals on the Thursday commission meeting agenda for public comment and action.
Commissioners asked whether draw positions fill and whether standby hunts allow day-of opportunities; Mote said draws fill and standby hunts accommodate on-site entry when hunters do not show. Commissioners referenced new parks (including Post Oak Ridge) and staff-expressed readiness to include those units in the public-hunt program.
No formal vote occurred in the work session; staff requested placement on the commission's Thursday agenda for potential commission action.
