Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Executive Director Carter Smith announced today he will retire effective January 2023, ending a nearly 15-year tenure that strengthened private-lands stewardship, expanded state parks and wildlife management areas, bolstered conservation, law enforcement, and park funding, and brought a renewed focus on connecting Texans young and old with the state’s natural resources.

 “The opportunity to work alongside the immensely talented and dedicated men and women of this Department has been the privilege of a lifetime,” said Carter...

Paul Johansen, President of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) has announced the appointment of Ross Melinchuk as the organization’s Executive Director.

Melinchuk, of Aiken, South Carolina, has over four decades of experience in the natural resource management and conservation field, including over thirty years in senior management and leadership roles. He has been actively engaged in public policy at all...

The Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) named the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Community Outdoor Outreach Program (CO-OP) the 2020 Diversity and Inclusion Award winner during their 74th annual meeting, held virtually Oct. 26-28. The program's intent is to engage underrepresented audiences in outdoor recreation and nature.

“This program is an essential component to TPWD's goal of diversifying the audiences visiting Texas State Parks and utilizing agency programs as well as increasing Texas residents' connection to natural and cultural...

While conducting aerial surveys for desert bighorn sheep in West Texas on Saturday, Aug. 8, three Texas Parks and Wildlife Department employees died in a helicopter crash on TPWD’s Black Gap Wildlife Management Area in Brewster County.

The victims include Wildlife Biologist Dewey Stockbridge, Fish and Wildlife Technician Brandon White, and State Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Bob Dittmar. The pilot, a private contractor, survived the crash and was transported to El Paso for further treatment.

“No words can begin to express the depth of sadness we feel for the loss of our...

As a group, our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to the people who have lost homes, livelihoods, and loved ones. Recovering from such events takes a long time. However, in darkest of days there are lights that shine brightly, and the conservation law enforcement officers of SEAFWA states are some of the brightest. Southeastern state fish and wildlife officers are very active as first responders, and states assist each other in such efforts.

When natural disasters strike, the highly trained and dedicated state agency wildlife law enforcement officers are some of the most...

The MINRC Committee is pleased to announce the 2016 SEAFWA Diversity and Inclusion Awards winners in the categories of workforce diversity and diversity outreach.  The winners, chosen by a small group of volunteers with the SEAFWA MINRC Committee, were judged on their commitment to diversity and inclusion, the effectiveness of their programs, and any partnership developed and used to support their diversity and inclusion goals.

The winner of the workforce diversity and inclusion award is the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), for their outstanding...

The Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies named Brian Van Zee the 2015 Fisheries Biologist of the Year at their annual meeting in Ashville this week. Van Zee is a fisheries biologist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department out of Waco.

“It gives me great pleasure to present this year’s Fisheries Biologist of the Year Award to Brian Van Zee,” SEAFWA President Bob Ziehmer said. “His contributions to fisheries conservation that began in Texas have led to ripples across the country.”

Van Zee was instrumental in helping the TPWD deal with one of the...