Coastal Wildlife Management Areas Hunting Updates

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department adjusted some of the schedules for hunting in coastal wildlife management areas for 2017 due to Hurricane Harvey. The storm affected both drawn hunting for alligators and early teal hunting in certain areas. Before you go down to the coast for a hunting weekend, check out the latest news on the status of the coastal wildlife management areas.

Open for Early Teal Hunting

Photo: Facebook/Robert G. Smith

The early teal season lasts from now through September 24. Up until this past weekend, many places were no open to teal hunting due to damage from Hurricane Harvey. Now, you can visit many of these previously closed coastal wildlife management areas (WMA) for teal hunting. Justin Hurst WMA opened on September 16 and will be open Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays during the season. Mad Island will only be open on weekends. Nelda Stark and Old River in the Lower Neches WMA will stay open daily. Guadalupe River and Hynes Bay in Guadalupe Delta WMA will stay open daily through the season.

Closed for Early Teal Hunting

Photo: Facebook/Sea Rim State Park – Texas Parks and Wildlife

Though many coastal wildlife management areas have reopened for the early teal season, some will not open at all. Big Hill and Salt Bayou in J.D. Murphree WMA will not open for the teal season. Sea Rim State Park also remains closed for teal hunting, and the Guadalupe Delta WMA’s Mission Lake Unit will stay closed to the public for hunting.

Drawn Alligator Hunting

Photo: Facebook/Texas Images

Though the annual drawing for alligator hunting continued, some coastal wildlife management areas will not have alligator hunts. Mission Lake in Guadalupe Delta WMA has canceled its drawn alligator hunts for the season. The same happened at Salt Bayou and Big Hill in the J.D. Murphree WMA. Luckily, other hunts will continue as scheduled. These include drawn alligator hunts in Dam B WMA, Angelina Neches WMA, James Daughtery WMA, and Mad Island WMA.