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Introducing the S. Reed Morian Oyster License Buyback Program
Wild Texas oysters are so much more than just a prized delicacy to be devoured by the dozen. Did you know that oysters provide crucial ecosystem services for our entire gulf? Known as ecosystem engineers, oysters form low-lying, three-dimensional reefs that serve as habitat for fish, crabs, shrimp, and so many other marine species while also providing food for larger fish, shorebirds, and people. The benefits these mighty mollusks provide range from improving water quality and clarity (a single oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day), to encouraging the growth of vital seagrasses that stabilize the sea floor, protecting the shoreline from storm surges and erosion, and capturing carbon.
But oyster reefs are bearing the brunt of excessive harvesting, hurricanes, flooding, droughts, and pollution, and they are currently considered one of the most imperiled marine ecosystems on the planet. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has worked for years to turn the tide on overharvesting, holding its inaugural buyback for oyster licenses in 2018. After several years of limited success in purchasing oyster licenses, TPWD called on Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation (TPWF) to help move the needle.
Through our newly launched S. Reed Morian Oyster Buyback Program, TPWF is leveraging the power of philanthropy with public funds to provide existing oyster license holders with a compelling offer to retire their licenses. Led by key funders Laurie and S. Reed Morian Foundation and the Coastal Conservation Association, a passionate group of conservation-minded individuals and foundations is galvanizing the effort, including the Brown Foundation, the Earl C. Sams Foundation, Jeffery and Mindy Hildebrand, Beaver and Joanie Aplin, John and Mary Eads, and Bobby and Sherri Patton.
“Oyster reefs are the pearls of our greater Gulf, but this lifeblood of countless marine species needs a lifeline,” said CCA Texas Executive Director Robby Byers. “As part of CCA’s ongoing multi-year, multi-million-dollar commitment to oyster reef restoration along the Texas Coast, we are honored to join forces with Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation and other key stakeholders to tackle this issue from an effective new angle."
The program has enabled TPWD to offer license holders a competitive fixed rate to retire their licenses instead of the traditional reverse bid process used in past buyback rounds. And the effort is paying off. Of 545 available oyster licenses, TPWD received 115 commercial oyster boat license offers in this latest round, which, if all applicants participate, would represent a reduction by 21 percent of total oyster licenses in the state. This reduction in commercial oyster activity will dramatically reduce harvest pressure on wild oyster reefs, allowing them to recover.
READ TPWD'S PRESS RELEASE
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Symposium Engages Top Experts in Texas’ Bighorn Strategy
As part of the ongoing desert bighorn sheep initiative in West Texas, a full-day symposium on May 15 brought more than 100 stakeholders to Sul Ross State University in Alpine for urgent discussions about steep bighorn declines.
The event—Managing Desert Bighorn Sheep in Texas: Challenges of the 21st Century—was hosted by TPWD in partnership with TPWF, Borderlands Research Institute (BRI), Texas Bighorn Society, and Wild Sheep Foundation, with support from Dallas Safari Club, Houston Safari Club Foundation, and Mender. Attendees also included biologists, landowners, veterinarians, and wildlife experts from across the country.
At the heart of the crisis is Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (M. ovi), a respiratory disease driving more than a 50 percent decline in Texas’ bighorn population. The pathogen is now widespread in exotic aoudads, non-native sheep that have proliferated across the region and act as carriers while showing little disease impact themselves. Together, attendees explored the disease threat, aoudad’s role in transmission, and the broader challenges of managing bighorns on rugged, privately owned lands.
“We’re in a tough spot,” said Froylan Hernandez, Bighorn Sheep Program Leader for TPWD. “Our most productive herds are surrounded by risk. This is our watch, and it’s on us to do something about it."
Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission Chairman Paul Foster called it a pivotal moment. “The threat is real and it’s urgent,” he said. “But so is the opportunity to work together again for the good of this species."
He pointed to a promising development: TPWD’s recent translocation of 77 disease-free bighorns from Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area to Franklin Mountains State Park in El Paso—a rare West Texas landscape without aoudads.
Dr. David Yoskowitz, Executive Director of TPWD, ended the day with a clear message. “We will use the best available science to inform our decisions, but we can’t wait for perfection. An action plan requires action, and we have the partners, the resources, and the commitment in this room to get it done."
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Now Available for Pre-Order: Texas Wild – Deluxe Edition
In a serenade worth sharing, we are thrilled to announce the release of Texas Wild – Deluxe Edition. Building on the success of the original Texas Wild, released in 2023 as part of the 100 Years of Texas State Parks Celebration, Texas Wild – Deluxe Edition features new bonus tracks and a limited edition vinyl release package you’ll want to add to your collection.
You can pre-order your copy of the Texas Wild – Deluxe Edition limited vinyl album today, which includes two powerful bonus cuts: “Pretty Woman” by Ruthie Foster and The Texas Gentlemen and “You’re Gonna Miss Me” by Zella Day. The vinyl package also comes with four interchangeable covers by influential Texas illustrator Mishka Westell, plus a 24-page companion book with stories behind the album’s songs and the wild things and wild places that inspired the album’s creation.
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"Pretty Woman" is available now for download on all major streaming platforms, and the complete album will be available this Friday, Aug. 8. The digital album includes two more bonus tracks: Max Frost covering Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable" and Jonathan Terrell covering George Strait’s “All My Exes Live in Texas.
Pre-order your copy of Texas Wild – Deluxe Edition today! Proceeds will benefit TPWF and our ongoing mission to keep Texas wild.
LEARN MORE & PRE-ORDER TODAY
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Pollinators & Prairies Website Offers New Resources for Texans
Native bees and other essential pollinators are vanishing at alarming rates, yet these tiny pollinators play an outsized role in keeping our ecosystems and food chain thriving. That sobering reality is why TPWF launched its Pollinators & Prairies program in late 2024 to help more Texans protect and restore habitat for native bees, butterflies, and all of our many pollinators. Now, our expanded website makes it easier than ever to take action, no matter the size of your space.
Whether you have an area in your yard, a prairie-sized pasture, or a patio deck, the updated Pollinators & Prairies website offers new resources to help turn that space into vital pollinator-friendly habitat, including step-by-step guides to walk you through site prep, planting, and care.
For landowners and land managers, the expanded site has helpful information on tax incentives, cost-share programs, and upcoming workshops to support prairie restoration efforts on private ranches or public lands.
And there’s more to come — TPWF is actively developing Wild Thumb, an interactive mobile app to help novice and experienced gardeners design their own native plant garden bed or pocket prairie. TPWF’s Wild Thumb app will provide users with ecoregion-specific plant lists and other tools. As an e-newsletter subscriber, you’ll be the first to know when the app becomes available.
Pollinators & Prairies is made possible thanks in part to sponsors H‑E‑B’s Our Texas, Our Future and Phillips 66.
Check out PollinatorsandPrairies.org today!
VISIT THE WEBSITE
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Membership Giveaway: Paloma Blanco Dove Hunt
Another promising Texas dove season is just around the corner, and hunters everywhere are counting down the days for a return to the field. Each September, longtime TPWF friend and ambassador John Dunaway marks the occasion by hosting the annual Paloma Blanco Dove Hunt in Brownsville.
Thanks to John and the El Capitan Hunt Club, as part of this annual tradition now in its eighth year, one lucky TPWF member and a guest will win a golden ticket to the annual Paloma Blanco Dove Hunt on September 19-22, 2025.
By joining or renewing your TPWF membership* between January 1 and August 15, 2025, you are automatically entered to win the giveaway.
JOIN TODAY
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And, if you join TPWF at the $100 level or more, and you will receive exclusive new Keeping it Wild gear from our friends at Turtlebox and YETI so you can show off your support of our Texas wild!
Join TPWF today and help us keep Texas wild!
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| *The price of membership pays for TPWF membership only and not for the chance to win the Paloma Blanco Dove Hunt. Members who join or renew between January 1 and August 15, 2025, are automatically entered in the drawing. The dove hunt is scheduled over September 19-22, 2025, in Brownsville, Texas. The "Golden Ticket" includes entry to the invite-only event plus one hunt. Lodging and transportation are not included. |
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