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Texas – -(OutdoorWire.com)- Last weekend, the second annual Texas Duck Tour kicked off pairing Texas Fish & Game (TF&G) and Ducks Unlimited (DU) in raising awareness to waterfowl habitat issues on the Texas Coast.

On Two Bayous Hunting Club near Angleton, the tour met head on with another TF&G DU collaboration: The Mottled Duck Initiative.

“We took a banded mottled duck on the first day of the tour, which will be covering five locations in five days to raise awareness to waterfowl habitat needs. Considering that we have been collaborating to help the mottled duck it was very serendipitous. We can’t wait to find out where that bird came from,” said Tim Soderquist DU regional director.

TF&G Executive Editor Chester Moore had the idea to distribute posters asking hunters to turn in mottled duck band information after talking with Texas Parks & Wildlife Department officials and so far along with DU have made them visible to thousands of hunters.

“I learned they need more data on mottled ducks and that the species has been in decline for quite some time. A lot of hunters don’t turn in band information because they know many are banded on local refuges but it is very important to their management so if you shoot a banded mottled duck or any other species please turn the data in,” Moore said.

Moore noted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Division of Migratory Bird Management and U.S. Geological Survey have done an awesome job collecting information on waterfowl and they along with TPWD should be commended on their work.

“Banding information in general is very important and gives us great incite into the mysteries of migration. Plus, who wouldn’t want to know where the bird they shot came from?”

The first stop of the Duck Tour also brought into focus the need for habitat restoration.

“We hunted with Steve Parker of Two Bayous Hunting Club who has done a marvelous job of managing that property. We hunted what used to be a solid Chinese tallow flat that was worthless to ducks but had been reclaimed in the name of waterfowl conservation. Without that kind of ethic and the work of groups like DU, our resource would be in very serious peril and our hunting heritage would be on life support.”

“Conservation requires action and we need to step it up going into 2009 with the many threats facing the ducks we so love.”

To read the daily Duck Tour blogs, go to http://www.fishgame.com and click on Chester Moore’s blog or go to http://www.myspace.com/texasducktour

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Conservation Put In Focus During Texas Fish & Game Magazine “Dream Drive”

Texas Fish & Game Magazine

Texas Fish & Game (TF&G) Magazine - Executive Editor Chester Moore recently completed the “Dodge Duck and Deer Dream Drive” hunting deer and ducks in five locations in five days across the Lone Star State.

During the trek, he helped spread the word about two conservation projects: TF&G’s mottled duck and black bear conservation initiatives.

“We’ve been distributing posters all over the state asking hunters to report mottled duck band numbers and to pass on shooting black bears. During this trip we added a bit to our bear project by putting brochures on black bear laws and conservation in key areas of the state where bears are being spotted,” Moore said.

“The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department provided us with 900 of these brochures and so far we have distributed over 700. One of the best things that happened on the trek is that I was in a sporting goods store buying a couple of extra boxes of Remington steel shot when a guy comes up to me knowing about our bear project and gives me a report of seeing a bear in the Angelina National Forest. He knew to shoot the bear and to report the sighting. It’s nice to see the work you are doing on behalf of our natural resources paying off.”

Also on the trip Moore personally observed some new conservation issues that are quite concerning.

“It’s pretty amazing to see the amount of forces aligned against wildlife and fisheries habitat in Texas right now. We’re going to be covering these in the magazine and really working hard to help make a difference on some developing problems,” Moore said.

Besides getting in on some great deer and ducks hunts Moore said the partnership with Dodge makes an important point.

“It’s important in these trying economic and social times where we don’t know which direction things are going to partner with people that are pro hunter and pro true conservation. That’s why we are proud to be working with Dodge to support hunting in Texas and beyond and to help ensure the future of our natural resources for generations to come.”

For more information, go to Fishgame.com

Media Contact: Ardia Neves, Texas Fish & Game (281) 227-3001 or aneves@fishgame.com

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