If you’re a saltwater angler and don’t like the idea of hundreds of abandoned crab traps catching and killing game fish you could have landed, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is looking for volunteers willing to help get rid of these derelict traps along the coast.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission today approved $5.6 million in competitive grants for city and county parks across the state. Commissioners chose 12 out of 52 eligible grant requests for outdoor recreation facilities funding.

As experts nervously watch mounting threats of record drought in Texas, several truths are evident: (1) when water won’t fall from the sky, what comes out of the ground is critical, (2) there are important things people can do to prepare to weather a drought, but when you’re in one the only quick fix is rain and (3) there are still parks, lakes and spring-fed rivers with water where folks can beat the dry heat.

At the very tip of South Texas in Estero Llano Grande State Park, Christopher Sandoval stands at a trail head waiting for visitors. Sandoval is interning this summer with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

The 78th Federal Duck Stamp goes on sale June 24 with an official ceremony held at 9 a.m. at Bass Pro’s Outdoor World located in the Katy Mills Shopping Center in Katy. Artists of this year’s stamps will be on hand to sign copies of their work. Texas Parks and Wildlife Director Carter Smith will also attend the event.

Native habitat restoration and enhancement for the benefit of wildlife is a common thread among the recipients of this year’s Lone Star Land Steward Awards. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Sand County Foundation are recognizing these model land stewards and others, who have shown exemplary efforts to manage their property as ambassadors of conservation.