While we all swelter under the August sun, some one million Texans, as eager as a child waiting for Christmas day, are merrily taking inventory of their supplies and counting down the days until hunting season begins. Whether your idea of hunting is picking your way through mossy river bottoms listening for distant gobblers, slogging through the muck in the dark setting up decoys to draw in weary waterfowl, or perching in a tree waiting for that wide racked buck to pass nearby, hunting appeals to man's desire to commune with nature on a variety of levels. The experiences of the hunt (sights, smells, sounds), as well as the thrill of the pursuit, are what draw many from comfy homes and stressful offices each fall to the outdoors.
This fall is shaping up to be a very nice hunting season around the state. Abundant spring and summer rains have filled ponds and oxbows, allowed browse plants to grow to their fullest extent, and have primed mast producing trees to the brink of bumper crops. Now all that is left to do is to wait for opening day and prepare for the experience.
To help prepare for this hunting season, Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD), Texas Cooperative Extension (TCE), and the East Texas Woods and Waters Foundation are teaming up to sponsor our third annual Fall Hunting Preview. The event will be held September 18, at the TPWD Nature Center in Tyler, which is located at 11942 FM 848. The preview will start at 6:30 PM and conclude around 9:30 PM. The event is FREE and the information provided invaluable.
Topics and speakers for this year will be "Assessment of Antler Regulations for Deer Hunters" by Gary Calkins, TPWD Pineywoods Wildlife Leader; "Venison Quality: From Field to Table" by Dr. Billy Higginbotham, TCE Wildlife and Fisheries Specialist; "Eastern Wild Turkey Hunting Forecast and Tips to Locate Those Gobblers" by Sean Willis, TPWD Pineywoods Wildlife Biologist; "Waterfowl Hunting Forecast and Ways to Improve Your Harvest Success" by Corey Mason, TPWD Waterfowl and Wetland Biologist; and "Open Session" with TPWD Game Wardens and Wildlife Biologists.
For more information call the Smith County Extension office at (903) 590-2980 or visit our web site smith-tx.tamu.edu . Persons with special needs are asked to contact us in advance so that necessary accommodations can be made. Programs sponsored by Texas Cooperative Extension are open to people of all ages regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion, disability, or national origin.
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