Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Questions:

• Would this law affect people fishing on or under bridges?
• Do inverts fall under this bill?
• Have we heard from the roundup folks?
• Who is responding to our communications?
• Who here will pay for a lease to hunt snakes?
• How do you suppose the falconers pulled off the amendment to allow trapping falcons from the road?
• When will this bill be voted on by the House?
• When can the public come to Austin to be heard?
• Does anyone know who is on the committee that irons out differences between a house bill and a senate bill?
• Are we not able to be heard before the house as we were in the last bill?
• Why did Troy Hibbitts get an e-mail from the head of TPWD saying it was okay to road collect and use spotlights if they knew this was coming?
• Did the Texas Hawking Association vote to support this bill? YES
• Can anyone find the committee and the members of that committee that set the date for bills to be read on the floor of the House and to be put up for a vote?
• In effect, hasn’t the committee “protected” the reptiles and amphibians that are known to occur only in West Texas?
• Where is one supposed to herp in West Texas with all the land either in private hands or a park?
• Why don’t they enforce the laws they already have?
• Why does TPWD go from no regulations to nobody can collect reptiles whatsoever?
• I am wondering if we have grounds to pool our resources for some kind of class action suit?
• Have we heard from Wayne about his attorney?
• Did Troy ever hear back from TPWD regarding the 556.006 legislative lobbying issue?
• Isn’t Dave Long’s buddy Brett Nelson an attorney?
• Can we have a meeting online to discuss options?
• Why does TPWD think road collecting hurts herp population specifically in West Texas?
• Has anyone talked to Ken Magnuson?
• What happened when Mike Welker contacted his attorney friend?
• Did Texas Herp Society send out letter against HB 2414?
• Can the university herper make comments in their official capacity?
• Does the law that defines hunting as “pursuit with the intent to capture or kill” distinguish between “capturing” for a 5-minute photo shoot versus a permanent captivity?
• Does anyone have the time and resources to compile a mailing list of West Texas hotels and retailers, especially the owners’ names?
• Did Jason Penney get a response from his friend who was going to talk to some people in Austin?
• What are the species of concern in East Texas that congregate on public roads and right-of-ways?
• Did Troy Hibitts ever get a response from TPWD about the “reasons for the bill response” from TPWD to Gallego’s office?
• How is it in the US, in this day and age, that our liberties can be taken away by government agencies with nothing more than a “good idea”?
• Has anyone tried to find out how much money the state gets from the current license/permit system that is currently in place?
• Is anyone able to step up and spearhead an organized response to this?
• Where do we hire a lobbyist?
• How will the animals lose if this legislation passes?
• How and where is TPWD going to provide hunting opportunities, as stated in their mission statement, for non-game permit holders under this new bill?
• Would it still be legal to collect invertebrates under HB 2414?
• Are bugs considered wild animals?
• How does this bill affect ranchers?
• Any information on the bulk mail issue, Lance?
• My next concern is how many signatures will be needed to get somebody that is on the fence or worse yet in support of HB 2414, to reconsider?
• Doesn’t the “advertised” availability for the permit authorizing collection from roads take some steam out of the “loss of information for sound management decisions” argument, unless we can demonstrate that hobbyists, not educational institutions are, and have been, the primary source for information gathering about herps?
• When will the bill go to the House?

Anyone that can answer these questions please feel free. We need to figure out the answers to these questions and then use the info for our cause.

Mike Welker
El Paso, TX

I don't have answers to everything listed here, but I do some answers and some opinions on some of them. I'll just respond to those questions for which I can provide some sort of information

• Have we heard from the roundup folks?

I have not gotten a response from them

• Who is responding to our communications?

Pete Gallego. I also got a personal response from Allan Ritter's office, meaning that his staff at least read my email and indicated that they'd pass it along to the Representative

• How do you suppose the falconers pulled off the amendment to allow trapping falcons from the road?

They were paying better attention than we were and they aren't perceived as commercial bastards like we are (and I know that most of us aren't.

• Why did Troy Hibbitts get an e-mail from the head of TPWD saying it was okay to road collect and use spotlights if they knew this was coming?

Check the dates on those emails! They were in 2004 and 2005! This bill was introduced in 2007. I don't think that it would have been possible for the Director of LE (David Sinclair) or the regional director of LE (Steve Whitaker) to forsee a bill that was introduced 2 years after they wrote me.

• Why does TPWD go from no regulations to nobody can collect reptiles whatsoever?

They will say that this isn't the case (although obviously it makes collecting more difficult) - you can still collect off of public roadways (if this bill passes).

• Did Troy ever hear back from TPWD regarding the 556.006 legislative lobbying issue?
• Did Troy Hibitts ever get a response from TPWD about the “reasons for the bill response” from TPWD to Gallego’s office?

No, I haven't heard back from them. Given that I report what I hear, I doubt that I will until they are ready to issue a statement for public consumption. In that regards, I may have "shot myself in the foot" by keeping you guys abreast of this situation.

• Isn’t Dave Long’s buddy Brett Nelson an attorney?

He is. He lives in Indiana

• Why does TPWD think road collecting hurts herp population specifically in West Texas?

Biologists in TPWD don't. Wildlife Diversity in TPWD doesn't. Some individuals in LE have used this argument.

• How will the animals lose if this legislation passes?

This is the key question! I think its been outlined that it will make it more difficult to monitor their populations and to make sound resource-use decisions. It will make it more difficult for "young herpers" to enjoy a hobby that might grow to become a "profession". We could by stymieing the development of the next Harry Greene or Peter C. Pritchard or Jim Dixon.

Sincerely,
Troy Hibbitts