Central Market and the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) have joined forces to bring wild game Cooking Specialist Chef Lisa Freeman into Central Market Cooking Schools to lead five February classes showcasing wild fish and game with award-winning olive oils. The classes will feature TPWD experts on hand to answer questions about game, conservation and the great outdoors.

A partnership between the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, Playa Lakes Joint Venture and other conservation organizations has recently filled three new Farm Bill wildlife biologist positions in the Texas Panhandle.

The drought has taken a toll on all Texas wildlife resources, but among the hardest hit is the bobwhite quail. This iconic grassland game bird already faces mounting obstacles to recovery and state wildlife officials say the drought is exacerbating the problem.

On behalf of Pheasants Forever, we ask that before you fire a shot in the field this October, you fire an email to your U.S. Senators and Representative in support of reauthorization of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).

A couple with East Texas roots – Arthur “Buddy” Temple and his wife Ellen – have been presented the 2011 Leopold Conservation Award for Texas for their transformation of an over-grazed, over-hunted South Texas ranch into a haven for wildlife and valuable research venue.

Native habitat restoration and enhancement for the benefit of wildlife is a common thread among the recipients of this year’s Lone Star Land Steward Awards. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Sand County Foundation are recognizing these model land stewards and others, who have shown exemplary efforts to manage their property as ambassadors of conservation.

Wildlife biologists at Texas Parks and Wildlife Department are cautiously optimistic about quail prospects this season, which gets under way Saturday, Oct. 30 statewide.

Current year Texas hunting and fishing licenses (except year-to-date fishing licenses) expire Aug. 31, and new licenses for 2010-2011 will go on sale Sunday, Aug. 15.

When Mother Nature shines as she’s done this spring, it makes anyone with a plot of dirt look good. But, it’s those times when the rains don’t come and the heat turns most of Texas brown and crunchy that a landowner’s mettle is put to the test. Those who can keep habitat conditions going in tough times as well as good are true conservation heroes.