TPWD’s Stocking History in North Texas
PART ONE
NOTE – In the time between Part ONE and the INTRODUCTION, I have gotten some absolutely fantastic feedback from the contacts (I will give you their info) at TPWD. When I say fantastic? It really is fantastic, great big picture information. That new information will be printed here, unedited, in its entirety next week.
It has been years since I crossed this subject, and of course it is another of those Samson-vs-Goliath categories of stories, stories where we are made to feel helpless and small in comparison to the huge bureaucracies that have quietly determined these trends, and left many fishers with a sense of being powerless to make any difference.
TWO REGIONS – What I am talking about today is the obvious NUMERICAL disparity of stocking fish in the North Central Texas – East Texas regions of the State of Texas. TPWD calls these regions, the “Piney Woods” and “Prairies & Lakes Regions” in their reporting and separation of resources – both regions are encompassed in the North Central Texas geographic area of Texas.
Why would I bring this up again? It really has done no good in past years, you may remember? Well, there is a huge change in North Central Texas, and is so fundamental that I believe the time is right for a real and measurable adjustment to the decades-long misappropriation of TPWD freshwater fish stocking resources.
THE CHANGE
We have a huge population increase that has taken place in Texas, and it is abundantly clear the North Central Texas area has more people who want to fish than ever before in the history of Texas angling. While the population explosion bleeds over into the Piney Woods Region of Texas, the METRO areas are taking in the masses in much, much greater numbers. Even while the sport of fishing has its ups-and-downs, with a massive up-trend in population? that is how I can say, “… more people who want to fish than ever before in the history of Texas angling.”
This huge population brings with it all the baggage those of us have dealt with here, as “natives,” for years. Work under pressure. Traffic. Limited time for outdoor recreation. Need for family activities that are affordable. Food. More family time. Challenge upon high population concentration challenge.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s core MISSION:
“To manage and conserve the natural and cultural resources of Texas and to provide hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation opportunities for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.”
Typical of Texas, more money in the TPWD system does not mean it all goes to our “recreational opportunities,” and of course that is perfectly logical. Inflation. Higher pay for retention, operating expenses … the list goes on forever. Environmental and/or biological setbacks to the stocking program over years where a lot can go wrong, and sometimes does is a real wildcard.
But, let me just take this time to expose one region, the region most of the TFC readers are from in Texas. We are talking today about the TPWD “Prairies & Lakes” region and the neighboring, “Piney Woods” regions of the TPWD regional map. Both of these regions, as you can see, are landlocked – they have no access to the Texas Gulf Coast like the Greater Houston Metropolis does. Between the two regions, you can see by the numbers below, that the bulk of the population resides – not in the Piney Woods, but in the Prairies & Lakes Region of the TPWD maps.
THE CITIES – A SIDEBAR
In my experience with TPWD, as a government entity, it has a tendency to “pass the buck” just like all governmental organizations do. In our case, perhaps the TPWD folks will say something to the effect of (that “the cities” that are being overrun), those cities have recreational fishing opportunities and obligations as well – LOOK over there, look at them. The truth is? The truth is all the towns and cities in these two regions are overwhelmed by the demands of this population explosion. More streets, more warehouses, more apartments, clearcut massive areas for development, ponds that are fish-less and not under any management – they may be in City parks, but are Soil & Conservation runoff ponds (silted-in and turbid by the new runoff) … the buck gets passed around by the city governments as well …
HEAD COUNT DFW Centric – Prairies & Lakes Region
Whenever we count heads in Texas, we know a lot of heads are not counted, don’t we? But let us just go with what we (The State of Texas) think we know:
- Dallas County – 2.6 Million
- Tarrant County – 2.15 Million
- Denton County – 977 Thousand
- Wise County – 75 Thousand
- Collin County – 1.15 Million
- TOTAL OFFICIAL = 6,952,0000
If you think that number is accurate? I have a bridge I want to sell you! We know two things, 1) those numbers are old, and, 2) there are a lot of uncounted heads running around here right now. Still, the official count is absolutely staggering.
COUNTY POPULATIONS Piney Woods East Texas Region
I took a snapshot of the population of several, but probably NOT ALL counties comprising the Piney Woods TPWD Region. Here’s what the numbers say:
- Fannin County 37571
- Hunt County 113347
- Henderson County 86158
- Kaufman County 185690
- VanZandt County 64000
- Smith County 245209
- Wood County 47921
- Upshur County 43281
- Cass County 28659
- Morris County 12066
- Marion County 9571
- Tyler County 20382
- TOTAL 893,855
Why does any of this matter to a fly fisher? Well, if you want to catch fish on a fly around North Central or North East Texas? It matters a whole damn lot. Do you want to drive to East Texas just to say you went there? Or do you want to catch a fish, save your gas money (pollute the environment less by driving less), and be able to do it with regularity and consistency? (Regular Unleaded is at $3.10 on average now) While folks like me are willing to drive off the edge of the flat earth, what if I didn’t have to – to find GOOD to BETTER to BEST fly fishing opportunities? Less damage to the atmosphere, less auto wear and tear, less wear on roads, less pollutants falling into the lakes … better for Texas – the BIG PICTURE Texas.
SNIPPET –
“According to Statista, Texas had 2.1 million paid fishing license holders in 2023. However, in August 2023, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) license manager Mike Hobson said that license sales for the 2022–2023 fiscal year were down 1.7% from the previous year, resulting in a 1.67% decrease in revenue.”
TO BE CONTINUED …
IN PART THREE – Now we know the population numbers for this area of Texas, in approximate numbers. What is the TPWD Mindset for their fish stocking decisions? Let us dive into where TPWD invests its fish stockings – IN TWO regions Prairies & Lakes and Piney Woods Regions of Texas. There appears to be to be NO NEED to compare fish to people (populations). The numbers are obvious. Let the chips fall where they may, I already know you will be surprised by these numbers, just as I have been for about fourteen years now!
The fish stocking gap continues widening in a self-perpetuating stocking loop that favors “Magnet Lakes” …
Category: Body-Mind-Soul, Life Observed, Science and Environmental, TECHNICAL
