Hunters in Texas, get ready for some changes come the 2024-25 season, as the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission recently rolled out a series of updates to the state's hunting regulations. Migratory game bird enthusiasts should note that the conservation order for light geese, which has been in effect for a quarter of a century, has been nixed—Texas is pioneering the way by being the first state to do so, as per an announcement covered by the Houston Chronicle.

That's not the only modification shaking up this year's hunting schedule, Owen Fitzsimmons, the department's migratory game bird program leader, pointed out an extension of the regular season for light geese by 19 days in the East Zone and a halved daily bag limit, plummeting from ten to five, the goose change is among a bevy of updates that also include kneading the hunting season dough for the elusive desert bighorn sheep now starting November 15 and ending September 30, a shift from the previous September 1 to July 31 timeframe, as reported by the Houston Chronicle.

Wild turkey hunters take note: there's a new mandatory harvest reporting requirement, and forget about differentiating between Rio Grande and Eastern wild turkeys—it's all about 'wild turkeys' now. Youth-only sessions and doe days are getting a leg up, expanding in the fall and across 43 counties, respectively, shedding light on TPWD's delicate act of balancing ecological welfare with hunter demand, a detail Fitzsimmons underlined in his commentary to the Houston Chronicle.

For those interested in weighing in on these proposals before they were set in stone, TPWD had their ears open until March 27—sorry folks, that ship has sailed, but the efforts to rally public opinion through methods such as a dedicated webinar, and avenues for email and phone feedback were detailed in an announcement on the TPWD website which can be found in their archived public comment page, reflecting the agency's commitment to considering the voice of the people before the March 28 commission meeting set the rules in ink, facto.

All told, whether you're in it for the birds or the big game, these changes are flying into effect soon—so it's time to adjust your sights, Texas hunters, the game rules have changed.