It's easy for hunters to get spoiled in Texas.  From September through May there is at least one ongoing hunting season for some game animal or bird in every region of the state, which includes the nation's highest number of deer, turkeys and migrating doves.

A lifelong passion for preserving prairie land seeded by a high school summer job that didn’t turn out quite like he expected has earned Panhandle rancher Jim Bill Anderson the 2010 Leopold Conservation Award for Texas, a prestigious recognition conferred by Sand County Foundation and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department as part of its Lone Star Land Steward Awards program.

Today at Pheasants Forever’s National Pheasant Fest, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced plans for a new Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general signup. Secretary Vilsack also announced increased acreage allotments for three CRP practices significant to wildlife, and then signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Pheasants Forever.

Every four years, the U.S. fields an Olympic shooting team known worldwide for achieving success in a most un-contemporary way-a rich and distinctly American background in traditional field sports.

This years featured speaker is Dr. Fred S. Guthery, a research scientist with Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Okla. Guthery will present two lectures. The morning session will feature A Rockin Retrospective on Quail Science and Management, while the afternoon session features Quail, Weather, and Time.

Field & Stream, the world's leading outdoor magazine, announced the 2009 Heroes of Conservation today. The six recipients of the award are featured in the October issue of the magazine, on newsstands September 22, and are also featured in episodes of Field & Stream's HOC TV, available now at www.FieldandStream.com/heroes.