Outdoors

For those who don't think the world revolves around money, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department announced it is canceling its Wildlife Expo this October. Whether the event will return is undetermined.

Declining sponsorship revenue is blamed for the cancellation. The event, held annually in Austin, has been a fall mainstay since 1992.

"This was a difficult and painful decision, but after looking hard at the financial realities and seeking creative ways to keep the event going, we finally concluded that the economic recession is affecting sponsor support to the extent that it is not viable to stage Expo," said Carter Smith, TPWD executive director.

The Texas Parks & Wildlife Expo has remained free to the public since its inception in 1992 thanks to sponsor support, but initial sponsor commitments this year have declined significantly. The Expo operating budget is more than $400,000 in hard costs per year. The money is used to rent tents and contract for other services needed to stage the festival. That operating budget has been largely underwritten by sponsors, and the declining sponsorship revenue means the resources needed to stage Expo are simply not there.

The annual Expo is billed as America's largest free, family oriented festival of the outdoors, drawing more than 35,000 visitors from across the state to TPWD headquarters in Austin.

"We will suspend Expo in 2009 and 2010 while we focus on expanding our outreach efforts statewide through partnerships with other organizations and through events held at our own facilities," said Ernie Gammage, TPWD Urban Outdoors Programs leader and Expo director. "Participating in existing events relieves a considerable financial burden while still allowing us to reach our desired audiences."

"Our goal remains the same: to engage underserved audiences and bring more people into the world of the great outdoors," Gammage said. "One of our core beliefs is that recreation leads to conservation. By introducing Texans, especially urban Texans, to outdoor recreation, the outdoors becomes more relevant to them. They come to care about it and finally to care for it."

Caddo Lake and Daingerfield state parks will be among a group of nine parks suggesting visitors go take a hike as part of National Trails Day June 6.

Among events planned from 9 a.m. to noon at Caddo Lake State Park in Karnack are nature hikes, workshops, and guided canoe trips (bring your own or rentals available). Call (903) 679-3351 for more information.

Daingerfield State Park in East Texas will be offering an 8:30 p.m. event titled "Hiking 101

- Discover Hiking!" Participants will join a member of the park staff at the amphitheater and learn what to bring along to travel safely on a hiking trek. For more information, contact the park at (903-645-2921).

Other parks hosting events will be Bastrop, Brazos Bend, Franklin Mountains, Lake Texana, Mother Neff, Seminole Canyon and Stephen F. Austin.

While there's no charge to attend the National Trails Days activities, regular Texas state park entry fees still apply.

For more information, contact the individual park.

A new online tool created by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will help anglers find out where tarpon have been seen or caught in Texas waters, and will help biologists learn more about the "silver king's" distribution and movements.

"Tarpon are extreme game fish highly sought after by sport anglers," said TPWD Coastal Fisheries Outreach Specialist Art Morris, who first proposed the new tool. "This application should not only help those looking to target tarpon but help us understand this charismatic and hard-to-study species."

Members of the TPWD GIS Lab's Resource Information System team spent nearly two years building the application.

Texas was once an international destination for anglers seeking to land a trophy tarpon.

Today's Texas tarpon fishery centers on Gulf passes and nearshore waters, primarily spring through fall, but angler reports and TPWD gill net sampling indicates the fish can be found at scattered locations throughout the state's bays and estuaries.

While the reasons are not entirely known, it is generally accepted that the current abundance of the species in Texas waters is nowhere near its historical highs.

"This application will allow the public to assist biologists track current tarpon use of Texas waters to better understand and manage the species." said Morris.

The new web application allows TPWD staff and anglers and researchers to query the number and type of tarpon observations using dates, radius from a�point based on latitude and longitude, bay name or coastal area.

Close to 300 observations already are loaded into the application, primarily from TPWD records and a few early volunteers. The web application is the first of its kind for the Gulf of Mexico.

"If successful, the program could be expanded to include other states and Mexico as well as other, less common species such as snook or large sharks," said Morris. "Ultimately, the program will help researchers and anglers alike in understanding this elusive game fish."

Anglers or members of the public who wish to record observations can log in to the application on the TPWD Web site, or e-mail tarpon@tpwd.state.tx.us for more information.

Tournament Results

Tyler Bass Club

Lake Bob Sandlin

1. Pat Wright, 16.81; 2. Gary McDonald, 15.88; 3. Jeff Linville, 12.31.

Big bass: McDonald, 6.31

Lone Star Bow Fishing Trail

Lake Palestine

1. Kevin Tidwell and Casey Jefferey, Tyler, 25 fish, 58.6 points; 2. Robert Campbell, 20 fish, 57.2 points; 3. Tommy Fuller, Sandy Fuller, Samantha Fuller and Kathryn Maddox, 21 fish, 44.6 points.

Big fish: 1. Tidwell; 2. McCurry.