SAN ANGELO, Tx – Hunters may be happy but others are not. That was the feedback at Tuesday’s city council meeting when Twin Buttes was approved to be public hunting land. Our Senora Scott was there and has details.
We’re about to see a lot of changes out here at Twin Buttes. Some are welcomed while others aren't. One of the main concerns ATV’s or off road vehicles won't be allowed anymore.
"So initially we have to unfortunately shut that down because we're not in compliance, the fact of the matter is it's not allowed as it is right now, so we'll have to initially shut it down but we are working with some groups and we're gonna start taking some steps to have an approved plan out there so we can bring the ATV’s," Lt. Game Warden Jason Huebner said.
Those rules and regulations coming from the federal government. The city originally leased twin buttes from the government but now, the land will be managed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Something some folks aren't happy about at all.
“It's an easy way out for the city, they don't have near the burden of enforcing the laws if Texas Parks and Wildlife does it. It's over regulated. Every level of government is over regulated," resident Lloyd Davidson said.
Davidson along with another concerned citizen spoke at the meeting. The motion was still approved six to zero.
“We'll just see what happens," Davidson said.
Another change, annual fees. It'll be 12 dollars per person for those 17 or older. Kids up to 16 are free as long as they're accompanied by an adult. That permit will let you do everything but hunt.
If you want to hunt, that permit will cost you 48 dollars. It's a once a year fee and you can use it in a lot of other wide open spaces.
"Those permits open up over 900,000 acres all across Texas," Huebner said.
Another change coming soon increased law enforcement presence with specific missions.
"Diminish the amount of trash that's going out there, the illegal dumping. Hopefully it won't look like a dump site and it'll be something we can be proud of as far as our public lands go," Huebner said.
Not only that, but other illegal, or as it was referenced to at the meeting, “nefarious activity.”
"There are some that go on out there. Yes, I hope to push them out of the area because some people go out there to do their dark deeds," Huebner said.
With change comes resistance - something the city and the Texas Parks and Wildlife department expected.
"We’ll never make everybody 100 percent happy but we're gonna do our best to keep everybody involved and have an opportunity to do what they enjoy doing out there," Huebner said.
All these changes are going into effect September first of this year.
