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Tag Archives: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

New areas at Enchanted Rock could open as soon as this fall after park more than doubles in size

For many Central Texans, Enchanted Rock is a special and mystical place, and now it’s more than doubled in size. Rodney Franklin, director for state parks with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said lots of people have fond memories…

Austin • By Maya Fawaz, KUT • Jan 23, 2025

Design Commission hears how buildings can be safer for birds

No city in Texas has adopted bird-friendly building policies for new construction or retrofits, but the Travis Audubon Society hopes Austin, a designated “Bird City,” will lead the way. To advance this cause, the organization enlisted Heidi Trudell, a consultant…

Planning • By Amy Smith • Apr 24, 2024

Alligators in Del Valle aren't as rare as you might think

While some people think states like Louisiana and Florida have cornered the market on alligator territory, Texas has what Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Jonathan Warner called a “healthy” population of about half a million gators. While most live in…

Austin • By Willow Higgins • Jan 12, 2022

Cold weather kills bats across Texas

Large numbers of dead or dying bats are being discovered under bridges and overpasses in Texas after last week’s winter storm. One Austin resident sent KUT a video of what she saw downtown under a bridge at Henderson and Ninth Street.…

Environment • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Feb 25, 2021

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Frigid temps put strain on wildlife and pets alike

As an energy crisis triggered by unusually frigid weather persists throughout the state, even our wild neighbors have struggled to adjust, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department reports. Mortality events have been observed in several bird species, including various species of…

Environment • By Seth Smalley • Feb 19, 2021

Neighbors of Bright Leaf worry about fire risk

After a City Council vote on July 29 allowing the city to take over management of Bright Leaf Preserve from the Austin Community Foundation, some residents worried about what that might mean for their Northwest Austin neighborhoods, especially in terms of…

Parks • By Jo Clifton • Aug 17, 2020

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More parks close, more parks to close

The Austin Parks and Recreation Department continued its recent pattern of issuing increasingly strict rules for city-controlled parks on Tuesday, with an announcement that all city parks and trails will close over Easter weekend in an effort to prevent the…

Parks • By Elizabeth Pagano • Apr 8, 2020

White-nose syndrome has been found in Texas. Here's what that means.

Texas’ first case of white-nose syndrome in bats has been confirmed. The fungus that causes the disease was first detected in Texas bats in 2017, but the disease itself, which has killed millions of bats on the East Coast, hadn’t…

Environment • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Mar 6, 2020

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