TPWD Web Site Policies

TPWD Mission

To manage and conserve the natural and cultural resources of Texas and to provide hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation opportunities for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.

Disclaimer

The TPWD Web site, is provided as a public service. The site is managed by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Please note that users of this Web site are responsible for checking the accuracy, completeness, currency and/or suitability of all information. Information posted on the TPWD Web site is current as of the posting date of the information. TPWD makes no effort to independently verify and does not exert editorial control over information on pages outside of the www.tpwd.state.tx.us domain. TPWD makes no representations, guarantees, or warranties as to the accuracy, completeness, currency, or suitability of the information provided on this site. TPWD specifically disclaims any and all liability for any claims or damages that may result from providing the TPWD Web site or the information it contains, including any Web sites maintained by third parties and linked to the TPWD Web site.

The inclusion of company or vendor names, or links to company or vendor names, does not in any way imply endorsement by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Copyright

© Copyright Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, or translated in any form or medium without the prior written consent of Texas Parks Wildlife Department except where specifically noted. Permission is granted to republish, in whole or in part, the news releases on the TPWD site. Permission may be granted to redistribute other material in its entirety provided that the copyright notice is not removed or altered. No portion of this work may be sold, either by itself or as part of larger work, without the express written permission of the TPWD. This restriction covers all publication media including, but not limited to, CD-ROM. All other rights reserved.

If permission is granted, the wording "provided with permission of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department" and the date must be noted, and TPWD must be provided a copy of the final product.

Commercial Use: To obtain permission to reproduce the information (text or graphics) contained on the TPWD Web site for any commercial purpose, submit the specifics of your request in writing to Communications Division — Web Services Team Leader, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, 4200 Smith School Rd., Austin, TX 78744.

Non-Commercial/Educational Use: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department information, drawings and/or photos of any kind can be used for "noncommercial and/or educational" usage as long as the following procedures are adhered to and the agency is given full credit for the materials.

All reproduced images (commercial or non-commercial/educational usage) must be accompanied by an appropriately placed Texas Parks and Wildlife Department credit line as follows: "Photo courtesy Texas Parks and Wildlife Department © 2006, (TPWD Photographer's name, if available (John Doe, TPWD)).

Reproduced information that is utilized verbatim must be accompanied by an appropriately placed Texas Parks and Wildlife Department credit line as follows: "Information courtesy Texas Parks and Wildlife Department © 2004, (author's name if available)."

Reproduced graphic/artwork that is utilized must be accompanied by an appropriately placed Texas Parks and Wildlife Department credit line as follows: "Artwork courtesy Texas Parks and Wildlife Department © 2004, (artist's name if available)."

Privacy and Security

This policy addresses issues of the collection, security, use and access of information that may be obtained through the use of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Web site.

Information We Collect

Server Logs/Log Analysis Tools

TPWD uses log analysis tools to create summary statistics for purposes such as assessing the level of interest in information, determining technical design specifications and identifying system performance and problem areas. The following information is collected for this analysis:

User/Client hostname — The hostname (or IP address, if DNS is disabled) of the user/client requesting access.
HTTP header, "user-agent" — The user-agent information includes the type of browser used, its version, and the operating system it is running on.
HTTP header, "referer" — The referer specifies the page from which the user/client accessed the current page.
System date — The date and time of the user/client request.
Full request — The exact request the user/client made.
Status — The status code the server returned to the user/client.
Content length — The content length, in bytes, of the document sent to the user/client.
Method — The request method used.
Universal Resource Identifier (URI) — The location of a resource on the server.
Query string of the URI — Anything after the question mark in a URI.
Protocol — The transport protocol and version used.

For site management functions, information is collected for analysis and statistical purposes. This information is not reported or used in any manner that would reveal personally identifiable information, and will not be released to any outside parties unless required to do so under applicable law.

Security We Use

We use a secure socket layer (SSL) connection to enhance the security of any information you choose to submit to us on our Web site. In other areas of our Web site, we provide only the security necessary to maintain our Web site and information we provide to you as part of our services.

For site security purposes and to ensure that the site remains available to all users, the Department uses software to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits. Raw data logs are used for no other purposes. Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this site are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Texas Penal Code Chapters 33 (Computer Crimes) or 33A (Telecommunications Crimes).

Use of Information

Cookies

A cookie is an extremely small text file that resides on the user's hard drive, created at the request of the Web server to track specific information. The TPWD Web site uses cookies to gather statistical information and to provide interactive pages, such as Web-based forms, surveys and shopping carts.

E-mail

Personally identifiable information contained in a question or comment sent to the Department in an e-mail message or in an online form submitted to the Department will only be used by TPWD to respond to the request. The Department may redirect the message to another government agency or person who is in a better position to answer the question.

Web-based Forms

TPWD uses Web-based forms for various reasons. Personally identifiable information collected from these forms has a specified use (e.g., registration, survey response, etc.) and the information is generally used by TPWD for that purpose only. Each form contains a link to this privacy policy.

Customer Information

The information we collect may be used to update our customer files. TPWD may sell personal information from boat, magazine and park visitor files as authorized by the Texas Administrative Code.

With few exceptions, you are entitled on request to be informed about the information that we collect about you. Under Sections 552.021 and 552.023 of the Texas Government Code, you are also entitled to receive and review this information. Under Section 559.004 of the Texas Government Code, you are entitled to have us correct any information about you that is incorrect. To protect your privacy and security, we will take reasonable steps to help verify your identity before granting access or making corrections.

The information we collect will be retained and maintained as required by Texas Records Retention laws and rules and may be subject to public disclosure under the Public Information Act.

Additional information regarding privacy policies can be found in the Privacy Policy Guidelines. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission also provides information for educating consumers and businesses about the importance of personal information privacy at Federal Trade Commission – Privacy Initiatives.

If you have any questions or concerns about the online policy for this site or its implementation, you may contact us at webcomments@tpwd.state.tx.us

Linking Policy

The data on the TPWD Web site and related graphics are not legal documents and are not intended to be used as such. Please note the Disclaimer and Copyright on this page. Please review the information below for details on establishing links to the TPWD Web site.

When linking to the TPWD Web site you are requested to adhere to the following requirements:

Frames

Do not enclose TPWD pages in a frame.

Changes to These Guidelines

TPWD reserves the right to change these guidelines at its discretion.

Proprietary Rights

Use of any TPWD graphics are not intended to indicate any endorsement of, sponsorship of, or affiliation with your Web site by TPWD.

Termination

TPWD reserves the right to immediately revoke permission to use these graphics by anyone not following these guidelines.

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