This weekend, while in Sanderson, I met Roy Engeldorf at the Outback Motel (owner). He showed me a correspondence from Steve Whiteaker, region LE director for TPWD in the Trans-Pecos. This email indicated that TPWD LE would no longer consider "road cruising" for snakes to be "hunting from a motorized vehicle". Just to be sure, I verified this as follows:
"Mr. Sinclair/Mr. Whiteaker,
As I'm sure you are both aware, in previous years, "road cruising" for snakes (driving slowly along a public roadway, pulling off the road to pick up a snake either spotted in the headlights or by use of a spotlight) has been considered "hunting from a motorized vehicle" and a violation of TPWD code - and, I might add, a bone of contention between TPWD and reptile enthusiasts. However, recently I was given a copy of an email from Mr. Whiteaker to Roy Engeldorf of Sanderson, Texas, in which Mr. Whiteaker stated:
" . . . our [TPWD's?] new policy will be to allow reptile collectors, that are legally licensed, to pull off of the roadway and walk over to pick up a specimen from the roadway. We will not consider this to be hunting from a vehicle. Stopping in the road or driving in a manner that impedes traffic should be avoided because they violate the traffic code . . . "
Please clarify for me if this is indeed TPWD's new interpretation of the "hunting from a motor vehicle" regulation.
Sincerely,
Troy Hibbitts
Texas Herpetological Society's TPWD Representative
TPWD Wildlife Diversity Committee"
Mr. Whiteaker replied:
"As stated in my email to Roy Engeldorf, this is the way we will handle reptile collecting from the roadway. This was a consensus reached between myself and the Austin headquarters staff in a meeting last week. Sincerely,Major Steve Whiteaker"
So, we apparently no longer have to fear being pulled over for pursuing our hobby in Texas, provided we're licensed.
Troy
