Texas parks and wildlife department is charged with the stewardship and management of game birds and their habitats in texas

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Fish and Wildlife Service Region 2 awarded $2.66 million to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) under the Wildlife Restoration and Basic Hunter Education and Safety program (CFDA 15.611) for the period of September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2027. This Formula Grant funds TPWD's core mission of stewarding and managing game birds and their habitats across Texas. The award supports the collection, analysis, and monitoring of game bird population and harvest data to inform hunting regulations, assess habitat and land use impacts, and guide adaptive management decisions across diverse Texas ecoregions.

Key deliverables include long-term small game harvest surveys that track hunter harvests and effort, population trend assessments that evaluate the effects of take on bird survival and reproduction, and regulatory recommendations based on empirical data. TPWD will coordinate with other state and provincial wildlife agencies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Canadian wildlife authorities to accomplish these objectives. The data and findings will be shared with the public to communicate the status and trajectory of game bird populations and hunting opportunities in Texas, thereby supporting both wildlife conservation goals and recreational hunting access.

This mission requires the agency to serve as the lead for game birds and facilitate the collection of population and harvest data to help guide management decisions and enhance recreational opportunities. Population and harvest trends of game birds are monitored to assess the impact of changes in habitat and land use over time as well as to understand the potential effects of take on survival reproduction and recruitment. These data are needed to assist in setting hunting regulations and when applicable in the development of new regulatory proposals. Long term small game harvest surveys are needed to provide data on hunters harvest and effort across ecoregions. Collectively these products are shared with the public to convey relevant information about the status and trajectory of populations hunters and harvest of game birds in texas. In addition extensive coordination with other state and provincial wildlife agencies US fish and wildlife service and canadian wildlife service are required during these efforts.