NPS - National Park Service

08/15/2023 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/15/2023 08:16

Big Thicket National Preserve Announces New Programs for the Autumn Season and Hunting Permits

News Release Date:
August 15, 2023

Contact:Megan Urban, 409-951-6721

KOUNTZE, Texas - Big Thicket is excited to announce the park's fall schedule of ranger-led programs and volunteer events. And, beginning September 1, hunters can pick up hunting permits for the fall/winter season.

Hunting Permits

Hunting permits for the 2023-2024 hunting season will be available starting Friday, September 1, at 9:00 am. In order to pick up a permit, hunters must go to the visitor center and bring their Texas hunting license and state-issued drivers license or ID. Parents and legal guardians of hunters 16 and younger can pick up permits for their children. Visit our hunting page for hunting regulations, maps, and more information.

Ranger-led Programs

Explore Big Thicket with a park ranger! Join us for free ranger-led activities on the weekends, including "off-the-beaten-path" hikes in the Lance Rosier Unit and Canyonlands Unit, fall color walks in late fall, and canoe trips in September, November, and December. These programs are designed to introduce new visitors to the wonders of Big Thicket and give return visitors something new to explore. Check out our calendar of events for more information.

Volunteer Events

National Public Lands Day will take place on Saturday, September 23. This year we are inviting volunteers to help reinvigorate the native plant garden at the visitor center and to "adopt" a trail for the day. Volunteers who help with the native plant garden can help rangers weed the current garden, replace the weed barrier, and put in new bedding and plants where they are needed. Adopt-a-Trail volunteers will start at the visitor center where they will be issued trash grabbers, bags, and a map of their selected trail. Volunteers can help by picking up trash at a trailhead and along a trail, and identify any maintenance needs along the way. Then volunteers will return to the visitor center to drop off their trash bags and supplies. Volunteers for the native plant work can register on volunteer.gov. Adopt-a-Trail volunteers don't need to pre-register.

Help restore the longleaf pine savannah ecosystem with our winter plantings in the Big Sandy Creek Unit. The first planting will take place on Saturday, December 9, where volunteers will plant native grasses and pollinators to continue the restoration of the understory of the ecosystem. Volunteers can sign up for this event at volunteer.gov.

-NPS-

Big Thicket National Preserve is located in southeast Texas, near the city of Beaumont and 75 miles northeast of Houston. The preserve consists of nine land units and six water corridors encompassing more than 113,000 acres. The Big Thicket, often referred to as a "biological crossroads," is a transition zone between four distinct vegetation types - the moist eastern hardwood forest, the southwestern desert, the southeastern swamp, and the central prairies. Species from all of these different vegetation types come together in the thicket, exhibiting a variety of vegetation and wildlife that has received global interest.