Trapping permits issued in Big Thicket National Preserve next month.

Date: October 20, 2015
Contact: Herbert Young, 409-951-6821

Superintendent Wayne Prokopetz announced today that Big Thicket National Preserve will be issuing 21 fur-bearing trapping permits for the 2015-16 State of Texas fur-bearing trapping season (December 1, 2015- January 31, 2016). Limited permits will be available for designated trapping areas: Beaumont unit - 4, Jack Gore Baygall unit - 7, Lance Rosier unit - 7, and Neches Bottom unit – 3.

Fur-bearing trapping permits will be issued on a first-come-first-served basis from November 1, 2015, until November 30, 2015, at the preserve’s headquarters. The headquarters building is located adjacent to the preserve’s visitor center, 8 miles north of Kountze at the intersection of FM 420 and Highway 69, and is opened Monday-Friday from 8 am to 4:30 pm. 

Permits will be issued by appointment only. Appointments may be made by telephone at [phone].

 • Everyone who traps fur-bearing animals in Big Thicket National Preserve must have a Big Thicket fur-bearing trapping permit.

 • All trappers wishing to trap fur-bearing animals must apply in person and may trap in only one unit. Parents or guardians, please be advised that children must be present to obtain their own fur-bearing trapping permit.

• You must show your current Texas Trapping License to obtain a Big Thicket fur-bearing trapping permit. This is a new requirement for the 2015/2016 season.

• Trappers must show the locations of their trap-lines on a map provided by the preserve.

Be advised that trappers who failed to return their harvest cards for the 2014/2015 season will not be eligible to trap fur-bearing animals in Big Thicket National Preserve during the 2015/16 fur-bearing trapping season. The deadline for returning the fur-bearing trapping harvest cards after the 2015/2016 season will be April 1, 2016. There will be no grace period.

Big Thicket National Preserve is located in southeast Texas, near the city Beaumont and 75 miles northeast of Houston. The preserve consists of nine land units and six water corridors encompassing more than 112,000 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 national interest.

For general information about Big Thicket National Preserve, visit www.nps.gov/bith or call the preserve visitor center at 409-951-6700. Visit us on Facebook www.facebook.com/BigThicketNPS, Twitter www.twitter.com/BigThicketNPS, and Instagram www.instagram.com/BigThicketNPS.