Texas Administrative Code › Title 31 - NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION › Part 2 - TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT › Chapter 51 - EXECUTIVE › Subchapter G - NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS › Section 51.168 - Nonprofit Partnerships to Promote Hunting and Fishing by Resident Veterans

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) The department
				  shall select one or more nonprofit partners (NPP) to promote hunting and
				  fishing by residents of this state who are veterans of the United States Armed
				  Forces. A prospective NPP under this section must exist exclusively to serve
				  veterans of the United States Armed Forces. The selection process shall be
				  conducted according to the applicable provisions of this subchapter, and shall
				  occur at three-year intervals by means of a request for proposals published by
				  the department.
(b) The following
				  guidelines shall govern hunting and fishing activities under this section.
(1) An NPP must provide angling and hunting
				  opportunities on private lands and/or public waters in Texas.
(2) Except as specifically provided in this
				  section, hunting and fishing activities under this section shall be conducted
				  in accordance with all regulations that prescribe seasons, bag limits, gear
				  restrictions, lawful means and methods, and special provisions governing the
				  take of wildlife resources. All federal requirements regarding hunting and
				  fishing (duck stamp, CITES tag requirements, permits, certifications, gear,
				  means and methods, etc.) continue to apply.
(3) Hunting and fishing opportunity provided
				  by an NPP under this section:
(A) must be made
				  available by means of a fair method of allocation or distribution to all
				  veterans of the United States Armed Forces who are residents of this state;
				  and
(B) must be advertised by the
				  NPP by providing public notice.
(4) Hunting and fishing opportunity provided
				  by an NPP shall be at no cost to participants, not to include travel, lodging,
				  meals, and other expenses ancillary to hunting and fishing activities, unless
				  those costs are provided by the NPP at the discretion of the NPP.
(5) Not less than 30 days before any hunting
				  or fishing activity may be provided or engaged in, an NPP shall complete and
				  provide to the department, on a form provided or approved by the department,
				  the specific hunting and/or angling opportunities to be provided, to include
				  the following, at a minimum:
(A) the specific
				  location (address or name of ranch, property, or water body) where the
				  activities are to occur;
(B) the
				  dates that each activity will occur;
(C) the name and address of each participant,
				  accompanied by proof of veteran status for each; and
(D) the name and address of each
				  representative of the NPP who will be participating in the activity.
(6) The stamp endorsement
				  requirements of Parks and Wildlife Code, Chapters 43, and 46 do not apply to
				  wildlife resources taken under this subchapter.
(7) The representative of an NPP who
				  accompanies a participant who engages in hunting activities shall immediately
				  tag any animal or bird killed by a participant for which a tag is required
				  under Parks and Wildlife Code, Chapter 42 with a tag issued by the department
				  to the NPP for the hunting opportunity.
(8) The representative of an NPP who
				  accompanies a participant who engages in fishing activities shall immediately
				  tag any fish caught by a participant for which a tag is required under Parks
				  and Wildlife Code, Chapter 46 with a tag issued by the department to the NPP
				  for the fishing opportunity.
(9) A
				  wildlife resource document provided by the department to the NPP and completed
				  by the representative of an NPP who accompanies a participant who engages in
				  hunting or fishing activities shall accompany any harvested wildlife resource
				  or portion thereof not accompanied by a tag until the wildlife resource
				  reaches:
(A) the possessor's permanent
				  residence and is finally processed;
(B) a final destination for deer;
				  or
(C) a taxidermist.
(10) An NPP shall maintain a daily
				  harvest log of hunting or fishing activity conducted.
(A) The daily harvest log shall be on a form
				  provided or approved by the department.
(B) The representative of an NPP who
				  accompanies a participant who engages in hunting or fishing activities shall,
				  on the same day that a wildlife resource is killed or caught, legibly enter the
				  following information in the daily harvest log:
(i) the name of the NPP
				  representative;
(ii) the name of
				  the person who killed or caught the resource;
(iii) the date that the wildlife resource was
				  killed or caught;
(iv) the location
				  the wildlife resource was killed or caught; and
(v) the species (if deer, pronghorn, desert
				  bighorn sheep, or turkey), sex, and quantity of wildlife resource killed or
				  caught.
(C) The daily
				  harvest log shall be made available to any department employee acting in the
				  performance of official duties upon request.
(D) The daily harvest log shall be retained
				  by an NPP for a period of two years following the latest entry of hunting or
				  fishing activity required to be recorded in the log.
(11) An NPP shall complete and submit an
				  annual report to the department on a form prescribed or approved by the
				  department.