Outdoor Recreation

The drought may be over but the destruction it caused lingers on.  The drought killed millions of trees across east Texas, and dead trees are dangerous to be around. That's why the U.S. Forest Service has closed a number of popular hiking trails and recreation areas in two east Texas national forests as a temporary safety measure.

Because of the wettest winter and spring in years, east Texas lakes are at last back to their normal levels in most areas. "Full Pond", as state hydrologists say.  That means the fishing is better than it's been in years, and the State Parks and Wildlife Department is busy restocking the public lakes and waterways with all kinds of fish, including catfish. BIG catfish. Officials recently

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will hold an open house at the new John D. Parker East Texas State Fish Hatchery near Jasper on Friday and Saturday, April 27th and 28th.

Josh Haddox of Nacogdoches is a champ! Josh goes to school at Texas A&M and is part of a fishing team there with Timothy Temple of Bryan, TX. The two just won the National Guard FLW College Fishing Southern Conference event on Lake Eufala in Oklahoma over the weekend. Call it beginner’s luck, since this was their very first National Guard FLW College Fishing Event. How much cash did they ea

Ah yes spring is in the air, and so are all those things a lot of people are allergic to.  Spring in the Piney Woods is always tough on people with allergies, but there's an usual profusion of allergens in the air this year, and those who specialize in such things say we're all in for an especially "sneezy" and miserable allergy season.

A long time east Texas attraction may have to close down because of cash flow problems.  If the popular Texas State Railroad can't get a cash infusion soon and find ways to make money 12 months a year, its managers say it will go out of business this week.

It's tempting to make this a funny story, but to the man who was critically injured in this bizarre golf course incident, there was nothing funny about it. Tarrant County Sheriff's Deputies are still trying to unravel the story of the fight that led to a golfer getting stabbed with the shaft of a golf club two weeks ago at the Eagle Mountain Lake Golf Course north of Fort Worth.

Another piece of Texas history is falling under the wrecking ball.  The historic arena where the Texas Prison Rodeo was held for more than 50 years is being demolished to make way for...for...who knows what.  Something to be decided later.