The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is considering opening deer hunting in three North Texas counties and another on the upper coast this fall as part of recommended changes to the 2012-13 Statewide Hunting Proclamation.

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.

The Lone Star State has a lot of land that’s primed for hunting and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is offering outdoors enthusiasts the chance to win several hunts of a lifetime.

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.