(a) It is an offense for a person without a valid access
permit to enter public hunting lands, except:
(1) on areas or for activities where no permit is required;
(2) persons who are authorized by, and acting in an
official capacity for the department or the landowners of public hunting
lands;
(3) persons participating in educational programs,
management demonstrations, or other scheduled activities sponsored
or sanctioned by the department with written approval;
(4) persons owning or leasing land within the boundaries
of public hunting lands, while traveling directly to or from their
property;
(5) for a non-hunting or non-fishing adult who is assisting
a permitted disabled person; or
(6) for youth under the supervision of an authorized
supervising adult possessing an APH permit or a LPU permit.
(b) Annual Public Hunting (APH) Permit and Limited
Public Use (LPU) Permit.
(1) It is an offense for a person 17 years of age or
older to enter public hunting lands or take or attempt to take wildlife
resources on public hunting lands at times when an APH permit is required
without possessing an APH permit or to fail to display the APH permit,
upon request, to a department employee or other official authorized
to enforce regulations on public hunting lands.
(2) A person possessing a LPU permit may enter public
hunting lands at times that access is allowed under the APH permit,
and is authorized to fish but may not hunt.
(3) Persons possessing an APH permit or an LPU permit
may use public hunting lands to access adjacent public waters, and
may fish in adjacent public waters from riverbanks on public hunting
lands.
(4) The permits required under paragraphs (1) - (3)
of this subsection are not required for:
(A) persons who enter Caddo Lake Wildlife Management
Area and do not hunt or enter upon the land;
(B) persons who enter and hunt waterfowl within the
Bayside Marsh Unit of Matagorda Island Wildlife Management Area; or
(C) persons who enter Zone C of the Guadalupe River
Unit of the Guadalupe Delta Wildlife Management Area and do not hunt
or fish.
(5) The permit required by paragraphs (1) - (3) of
this subsection is not valid unless the signature of the holder appears
on the permit.
(6) A person, by signature of the permit and by payment
of a permit fee waives all liability towards the landowner (licensor)
and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (licensee).
(c) Mentored Hunting Permit--Permits issued under this
subsection shall be available on a first-come, first-served basis
for use on designated units of public hunting lands at designated
times. A person may participate in a designated hunt under a mentored
hunting permit only if the person has completed the mandatory mentored
hunter workshop and has been authorized by the department to participate
in hunt activities. A person who participates in a mentored hunt under
a mentored hunting permit must be accompanied by a designated mentor.
(d) Permits for hunting wildlife resources on public
hunting lands shall be issued by the department to applicants by means
of a fair method of distribution subject to limitations on the maximum
number of permits to be issued.
(e) The department may implement a system of issuing
special permits that gives preference to those applicants who have
applied previously but were not selected to receive a permit.
(f) Application fees.
(1) The department may charge a non-refundable fee,
which may be required to accompany and validate an individual's application
in a drawing for a special permit .
(2) The application fee for a special permit is waived
for a person under 17 years of age; however, the youth must apply
in conjunction with an authorized supervising adult to whom an application
fee is assessed, except as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4) of this
subsection.
(3) The application fee for a special permit is waived
for an adult who is making application to serve as a non-hunting authorized
supervising adult for a youth in a youth-only drawn hunt category.
(4) Persons under 17 years of age may be disqualified
from applying for special package hunts or may be assessed the application
fee.
(5) The application fee for a special permit is waived
for on-site applications made under standby procedures at the time
of a hunt.
(6) Incomplete or incorrectly completed applications
will be disqualified.
(g) Legal animals to be taken by special or regular
permit shall be stipulated on the permit.
(h) Only one special or regular permit fee will be
assessed in the event of concurrent hunts for multiple species, and
the fee for the legal species having the most expensive permit will
prevail.
(i) Any applicable special or regular permit fees will
be waived for youth under the supervision of a duly permitted authorized
supervising adult.
(j) Any applicable regular permit fees will be waived
for persons possessing an APH permit.
(k) Certain hunts may be conducted totally or in part
by regular permit. It is an offense to fail to comply with established
permit requirements specifying whether a regular permit is required
of all participants or required only of adult participants who do
not possess an APH permit.
(l) Any applicable regular permit fees for authorized
activities other than hunting or fishing will be waived for persons
possessing an APH permit or an LPU permit.
(m) An access permit applies only to the individual
to whom the permit is issued, and neither the permit nor the rights
granted thereunder are transferable to another person.
(n) A person who fails to obey the conditions of a
permit issued under this subchapter commits an offense.
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Source Note: The provisions of this §65.193 adopted to be effective September 1, 1996, 21 TexReg 5316; amended to be effective August 20, 1998, 23 TexReg 8460; amended to be effective July 13, 2000, 25 TexReg 6545; amended to be effective August 9, 2001, 26 TexReg 5825; amended to be effective July 11, 2002, 27 TexReg 6038; amended to be effective January 3, 2005, 29 TexReg 12233; amended to be effective June 7, 2005, 30 TexReg 3256; amended to be effective July 18, 2007, 32 TexReg 4442; amended to be effective July 28, 2008, 33 TexReg 5981; amended to be effective July 22, 2013, 38 TexReg 4636; amended to be effective July 17, 2017, 42 TexReg 3542 |