+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | TPWD News Releases Dated 2009-08-25 | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | This page contains only plain text, no HTML formatting codes. | | It is not designed for display in a browser but for copying | | and editing in whatever software you use to lay out pages. | | To copy the text into an editing program: | | --Display this page in your browser. | | --Select all. | | --Copy. | | --Paste in a document in your editing program. | | If you have any suggestions for improving these pages, send | | an e-mail to webtech@tpwd.state.tx.us and mention Plain Text Pages. | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ [ Note: This item is more than a month old. Please take the publication date into consideration for any date references. ] [ Media Contact: Tom Harvey, 512-389-4453, tom.harvey@tpwd.state.tx.us ] [TH] Aug. 25, 2009 Lifetime License Applications Must Be Received by Aug. 31 AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is reminding customers who want to buy lifetime hunting, fishing or combo licenses at fiscal year 2009 prices that purchase applications must be received at TPWD headquarters by Aug. 31. Applications that are post-marked by Aug. 31, but not received by this date, will not be accepted. The department's 2010 fiscal year starts Sep. 1, and on that date the electronic sales system will automatically sell licenses at a new, higher price. The change is part of an across-the-board increase in hunting, fishing and boat registration fees. Starting Sep. 1, Texas Lifetime Resident Hunting License and Texas Lifetime Resident Fishing License costs will increase from $600 to $1,000, and the Texas Lifetime Resident Combination Hunting and Fishing License will increase from $1,000 to $1,800. Lifetime license purchases require buyers to submit an Application for Texas Resident Lifetime License form. The application form may be obtained at any TPWD Law Enforcement office in Texas, from the TPWD Web site or by calling (800) 792-1112 (option 9, extension 4820). Lifetime licenses are only available for sale from the department's Austin headquarters. --- On the Net: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/business/licenses/lifetime_licenses/ -30- [ Note: This item is more than a month old. Please take the publication date into consideration for any date references. ] [ Media Contact: Tom Harvey, 512-389-4453, tom.harvey@tpwd.state.tx.us ] [TH] Aug. 25, 2009 Texas Hunters Should Ask To Get HIP AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas hunters need to make sure they are Harvest Information Program (HIP) certified before going hunting for dove, waterfowl or other migratory game birds this fall to avoid an unintentional game violation and possible citation. Specifically, hunters need to ask about HIP certification at the license sales counter, because some license clerks may not bring it up. For several years, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been working with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to help improve the quality of Texas HIP certification data that is used to qualify hunters for migratory bird harvest surveys, which some hunters may receive in the mail during the course of the coming hunting season. These surveys of dove and waterfowl hunters help the service and states determine the national harvest, and this information is used to set hunting season and bag limit regulations. TPWD made a change in the electronic hunting and fishing license sales system this year, and this now means hunters should ask vendors for the HIP certification. Just as in recent years, hunters will answer a series of brief, simple questions about their recent game bird hunting activities to become HIP certified. There is no cost to license buyers for the certification. "We have heard reports from some hunters that some license vendors are failing to ask if they want to be 'HIP,'" said Vernon Bevill, TPWD small game program director. "It is the hunter's responsibility to tell the clerk issuing their license that they want to answer the HIP questions and be certified." Bevill went on to say, "The best time to get certified is when you buy the licenses and stamps you need. Tell the license clerk to be sure to ask you the HIP questions right then, and if you forget and remember later you should return to the same store, if convenient, and get certified. The HIP permit is free." TPWD and the Service are working to improve the accuracy of all migratory game bird harvest surveys. Some hunters think the answers they give in the store is the survey, but HIP certification only places hunters into categories of high, medium or low harvest of dove, ducks or other migratory game birds. The information is collected at the state level and then sent to the Service so they can more accurately survey hunters in states like Texas. Each harvest category is surveyed at slightly different rates to gain the full estimate of dove, duck, and goose harvest. "In prior years some license vendors would provide incorrect answers and certify hunters without them ever knowing they were certified," said Corey Mason, TPWD dove program leader. "This led to numerous problems with the Texas data, and we need to obtain better information because Texans harvest more dove and waterfowl than any other state in the Central Flyway. " --- On the Net: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/hunt/season/migratory_game/hip/ -30-