On April 7, Gov. Greg Abbott issued a mandate asking Texas state parks to close to the public until further notice, in order to maintain the safest environment for visitors, volunteers, and staff. The historic sites and state parks closed at 5 pm on Tuesday, April 7 and will reopen at the governor’s orders.

“Given the myriad of challenges and heightened risks of operating the parks at this time, we believe this is the best course of action right now in order to meet the health and safety expectations the state has set out for the citizens of Texas,” said Carter Smith, executive director of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. “All state parks will remain temporarily closed until public health and safety conditions improve. During the closure, staff will continue to steward and care for the parks to ensure they can be immediately reopened to visitors at the appropriate time.”

Gov. Abbott’s directive is a sudden shift from previous weeks. Since the first COVID-19-related quarantine measures were enacted, TPWD has worked diligently to enable access to the outdoors across the state.

Until now, state parks were limiting visitors through a daily cap, and encouraged visitors to make reservations in advance through prepaid day passes. Visitors were encouraged to use self-pay stations or make reservations online with credit cards instead of cash. Equipment rentals and interpretive programs were suspended.

Despite the implementation of increasingly restrictive measures to help minimize the transmission of COVID-19 at parks, attendance swelled in March, perhaps a result of Texans seeking a reprieve from shelter-in-place orders, which mandate citizens stay in their homes except to exercise or run essential errands.

Texas’ state park system hosted nearly 740,000 day and overnight visitors throughout the month of March. To eliminate the risk of COVID-19 spread within a Texas state park, a sweeping closure was issued this week.

The governor said the closure is in efforts to strengthen social distancing and prevent the gathering of large groups of people. In a statement provided by TPWD, further explanation was provided.

“(We) have reached a point where public safety considerations of those in the parks, and in the surrounding communities, must take precedence over continued operations. Difficulty in ensuring compliance with social distancing, problems in maintaining adequate supplies, and keeping park facilities sufficiently sanitized are only a few of the challenges encountered by state park staff.”

Those who have made reservations with a state park or facility will be reimbursed, TPWD said. The Texas State Parks Customer Service Center will automatically process cancellations of both overnight and day-use reservations.

Gene Howe Wildlife Management

The Gene Howe Wildlife Management Area (WMA) has 5,886 acres located along the Canadian River in the northern rolling plains of Hemphill County. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department purchased the first parcels in 1950 and 1951, for the purposes of wildlife management, public use, and research.

Because Gene Howe WMA is managed as a wildlife preserve, it will remain open despite closures of state parks. Campgrounds will be closed, except to permitted hunters, to mitigate the gathering of large groups.

“We’re still open for normal activities,” said Jamie Baker, wildlife biologist for Gene Howe WMA. “We have seen a spike in visitor traffic since Texas has been observing selfisolation. People need to get out and exercise, and enjoy fresh air and sunshine.”

Gene Howe has not experienced overcrowding at this point, Baker said, and social distancing has not been a problem. To limit face-to-face communication, reservations and other correspondence has been conducted primarily through digital means.

To utilize Gene Howe WMAs, visitors will be required to purchase a permit based on their intended activities, and permits are heavily enforced to protect the lands.

Those who wish to visit Gene Howe for activities such as fishing, hiking, camping, bird watching, picnicking, and wildlife viewing will need to purchase a limited public user permit, which can be obtained for $12. To hunt in the fall, visitors are required to purchase an annual public hunter permit ($48) in addition to an annual hunting license. Permits can be obtained through the TPWD website, or purchased locally at Lowe’s Grocery.

Both the Gene Howe Wildlife Management Area and Lake Marvin are closed from Friday through Sunday this weekend and the following two weekends, while those facilities host turkey hunts. However, the area will be open Monday-Thursday.

For more information about public hunting in Texas, and access to the Gene Howe WMA and Lake Marvin, go online to https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/hunt/public/.