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Janisse Ray's avatar

OMG. Panic.

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D Alexander's avatar

While I doubt Curry has the influence to pull this off and his motive may be to fire a shot across the bow of the Agency that regulates his breeding operation, it’s still a major concern. Thanks for your article.

Geez, and I thought Doc Anderson was awful. I reckon I’m gonna have to call my representative.

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DeeceX's avatar

Every Representative, especially in his or her first term, files a bill to change the sky from blue to burnt orange or to have New Mexico cede all its territory east of the Rio Grande. If they want to be taken seriously in the future, they drop those ideas in their second term.

As you've pointed out, there is a huge and very wealthy constituency that loves our parks (for the wrong reasons, sometimes, but we'll take the win.) I feel confident that nothing will come of this bill, which, for what it's worth, was filed on the day of the bill filing deadline.

Thanks for your reporting on this, Misti.

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Misti Little's avatar

Yeah, I saw that re: the deadline! I'm sure he thought he'd get some last minute "ooh, let's make a name for myself" bill in before things closed and his new little spot on TxDOGE must have helped that along. Crossing fingers it is dead in the water!

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DeeceX's avatar

Once upon a time, we had the Sunset Commission. It was charged to review (almost) every state agency on a rotating 12-year basis. TPWD was last reviewed in 2021. This faux-DOGE committee has no real mission that's integral to the operation of state government

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Cynthia Phillips's avatar

To transfer our natural bounty into the hands of hated developers would be a betrayal of all the people over the years who donated their land to Texas in order to preserve it.

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Robin du Plessis's avatar

I saw this story on the news last night. For sure, Texans and many tourists love our state parks and the many outdoor recreation activities they provide. I can't imagine this getting by Texans without a big ruckus.

Texas needs more state parks and more funding to help operate and upkeep the current parks. The great outdoors and access to it is invaluable.

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jpg's avatar

So on target for these folks. I don’t like some of the things they are doing and I’m too lazy, or whatever, to work with them to perhaps change things, so let’s just burn it all down. Bigger question is, when will Texas voters wake up and stop voting for these crazies who are often working against the best interests of their districts?

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Ray Zimmerman's avatar

This all flows from the federal level. Our president is a developer, meaning he only sees land as a chance for a quick buck.

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Mark Loyacano's avatar

Developers are smart enough, or should be, to know how theirs actions are affecting the natural world. How can we help them care enough about the consequences that will be faced by all in this living world? What will it take to create empathy in their hearts for our earth?

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Joy V.'s avatar

When I saw this news headline, I have to admit, it felt like the final tipping point for me to move out of Texas. I love TPWD, and I think a lot of Texans do. This man/"deer breeder" should not get his way.

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Heather Fitzgerald's avatar

I'm stuck on "deer breeder". I had no idea anyone did that and I am very curious as to why.

But for the rest, look at what Ohio is doing with their state parks. It's horrifying.

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D Alexander's avatar

Texas white-tailed deer are small relative to other regions and have smaller antlers. Breeders sterilize their property (remove native deer), install high fences, then import larger deer with genetics selected for larger antlers. The offspring with their trophy antlers are then sold (hunted) for big $. The problem comes from Chronic Wasting Disease which occurs in captive breeding operations, hence the regulation. Misti and others are better resources than I am of course. Hope that helps

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