News Release

Big Thicket National Preserve Hunting Permit Registration Opens August 30, 2024

NPS Photo / Ian Kessler

News Release Date: August 15, 2024

Contact: Megan Urban, 409-951-6700

KOUNTZE, Texas – Big Thicket National Preserve will start issuing this season’s free 2024/2025 hunting permits on Friday, August 30. Permits will be available first-come, first-served until the end of hunting season on February 28, 2025. Hunters are reminded that not all permits get issued within the first day, or within the first two weeks, so they can still get their desired hunting unit even on Labor Day weekend.

Permits will be issued at the preserve visitor center from 9 am until 5 pm daily. The visitor center is located 8 miles north of Kountze at the intersection of US 69 and FM 420 at 6102 FM 420. Big Thicket hunting permits allow hunters to take white-tailed deer, squirrel, rabbit, feral hog, and waterfowl, expect those for the Lake Bayou Hunting Unit, which is a waterfowl-only area. The preserve observes the state of Texas hunting seasons that occur between September 28, 2024, to February 28, 2025. Additional feral hogs may be taken by permit-holders in any hunting unit except for Lake Bayou during the special hog season, which runs from January 1 through February 28, 2025.
 

• Everyone who hunts in Big Thicket National Preserve must have a Big Thicket hunting permit.
• You must show both your current Texas hunting license and current driver’s license or state-issued ID to get a Big Thicket hunting permit.
• All hunters must apply in-person and may only hunt in one area. Parents and legal guardians may pick up permits for their children 15 and under.
• The deadline for returning hunter harvest cards after the 2024/2025 season is April 1, 2025.

The number of permits issued for each hunting unit varies on the size of the unit and wildlife management goals for that unit. The following numbers of permits, by hunting unit, are available: Beaumont Unit – 200; Beech Creek Unit – 150; Big Sandy Creek Unit – 400; Jack Gore Baygall Unit – 400; Lance Rosier Unit – 900; Neches Bottom Unit – 150; Lake Bayou Unit – 50.

More information and maps can be found on our hunting page.

-NPS-

Big Thicket National Preserve is 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 these different vegetation types come together in the thicket, exhibiting a variety of vegetation and wildlife that has received global interest.