I sent these out this morning. If anyone has anything else that you think ought to be added, post it.



Subject * Refer HB 2414 to General Calendar Committee



Your Message *:

Members of the Local & Consent Calendar Committee,



HB 2414, a bill pertaining to hunting along a public roadway, has been referred to your committee by the Culture, Recreation, and Tourism Committee because, in their opinion, it was of local interest and that they thought it would be uncontested. I am writing today to urge you to move this bill from the Local & Consent Calender Committee to the General Calendar Committee. For various reasons, I believe that this bill will not be “uncontested”:



1) it is not supported by any of the Professional or Amateur Herpetological Societies in Texas. This bill would limit the ability of research institutions to collect data in regards to changing distribution and abundance patterns in Texas. While a researcher would likely still be able to use a permit to make such collections, hobbyists in Texas contribute greatly to our knowledge about these animals. For example, over the past 19 years, I’ve personally deposited 1600 reptile & amphibian specimens (mostly salvaged road killed animals) to the TCWC and UTA Collection of Vertebrates.



2) It would represent a financial burden on already struggling rural communities that depend on tourist dollars from Reptile Hobbyists. Towns such as Sanderson and Alpine stand to loose significant revenue should the act of driving roads in search of snakes be prohibited. For this reason (among others) this bill is not supported by Representative Pete Gallego, representative for this region.



3) Additionally, the potential impact of this legislation on ranchers must be considered. Remember that small county roads also constitute public right of ways. Under this legislation, a rancher with free-ranging cattle grazing alongside a public right of way would be prohibited from capturing or killing nuisance animals (e.g. coyotes or rattlesnakes) near his livestock as they graze alongside these county roads.



4) This legislation is unnecessary. One of the purported reasons behind this bill is to curtail the commercial collection of reptiles in Texas – an aim that I wholeheartedly support. However, Texas Parks & Wildlife already has a commercial collection permitting system that allows them to close species to commercial take when it is determined that the take in a particular species is not sustainable. For example, come Sept.1 of this year, the commercial take in most species of turtle will be closed. In light of this, it is unnecessarily punitive to close roadways to all collection – from both hobbyists and unscrupulous commercial collectors alike.



Please move this unnecessary and contested legislation out of the Local & Consent Committee and refer it to the General Calendar Committee.



Sincerely,



Troy Hibbitts

Texas Herpetological Society liason to TPWD

Camp Wood, TX

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