With all of the talk on here about Hunting Guides running hunters on Public Land I decided to e-mail TPWD to see if this was in fact legal. Well according to TPWD it is NOT legal. In the state of Texas if a land owner or their agent wants to lease their land for the purpose of hunting they must obtain a Hunting Lease License from Texas Parks and Wildlife. This permit MUST be displayed either in or on a building ON the property. The license covers both the Land owner or any of his agents ie; hunting guides. Since These guides are using public land their is NO way for them to obtain a Hunting Lease License or display it. So if I read this email right, it is ILLEGAL for professional hunting guides or any guides for that matter to run hunts on public lands here in Texas.

Here is the email I received from TPWD.....

-----Original Message-----
> From: TPWD@prodweb2.tpwd.state.tx.us
> [mailto:TPWD@prodweb2.tpwd.state.tx.us]
> Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2011 8:41 PM
> To:
> Subject: Web Site - E-MAIL REPLY REQUESTED - Hunting on Public Lands in Texas
>
>
> *** E-mail reply requested!
>
> Comment or Question:
>
> Is it legal for professional hunting guides to charge money to
> take people hunting on public land like the LBJ grasslands here
> in Texas? also what kind of insurance do these guides need to
> have in case of an accident? Also is there some kind of permit
> these guides need to have in order to do business in Texas?


> From: hunt <hunt@tpwd.state.tx.us>
> Date: February 24, 2011 7:40:17 AM CST
> To:
> Subject: RE: Web Site - E-MAIL REPLY REQUESTED - Hunting
>
> They are unable to do so since they would not be able to that
>since a Hunting Lease license is required of a landowner or
>landowner's agent who leases hunting rights to another person
>on property they own or control for pay or other consideration.
>The license must be displayed on the property.
> The guide is not the landowner or landowner's agent
>since they do not own the property nor lease it since it is
>open to all the public to utilize. They also would not be able
>to acquire a Hunting Lease license due to the open statement.
>
>
>

That seems weird to me since they are not leasing the property they are selling the services and equipment they provide.

After all whats the difference in guiding hunts on public land and being a fishing guide that guides on state waters??

Good point... I think what he was really asking in the original email was misinterpreted because the response is

Fishing guides have to have proof of liability insurance and register with the state. If I am reading it right, you can not receive compensation either in the form of money or goods as an outfitter or as a hunting guide while running hunts on public land. re-read the email. Since it is public land there is no way to obtain a Hunting Lease license. In order for an outfitter or a guide to do business in the state of Texas the land owner or their agent must have a license. Since the land is for public use there is no way to obtain said license.....

That would make since... you would think that you would be able to treat it the same as a fishing guide then and just require proof of insurance and be registered

what about duck guides on public lakes?

Those have always been illegal........guys get away with it cause of the Daffy Duck Law

This is one of those deals where it sounds like it's technically illegal, but it'd be very difficult to prove unless there's a rule (which there might be) on how far apart 2 people must be when hunting on public land. How do they prove they're not just hunting together?

I guess it'd be obvious if they kept catching the same guy with different people.

This is not very hard to prove. I am pretty sure if a game warden or the federal police that patrol the grasslands walk up on a pair of turkey hunters and starts questioning them that the paying client is not going to lie to them and risk loosing his hunting license. I spoke with TPWD in Austin yesterday and they Told me that this is cut & dry. They have dealt with this issue before and they made it VERY clear that it is illegal for outfitters or hunting guides to run hunts on public land and get compensated either with money or goods and services. A guide MUST operate under the umbrella of a property owners Hunting Lease license. Since it is PUBLIC land it is NOT possible to do this. Thus making it illegal for them to use public lands for their hunts. The Game Wardens read these forums and they read the want ads looking for guides advertising hunts on public lands.....

That response is interesting. But I wonder if it applies differently to a guide or outfitter on water rather than land. With a few minutes on a google search, I am sure I could list at least a dozen guides or outfitters that openly advertise and operate waterfowl hunting on public water in Texas. Some in operation going on several years now.

gets even larger when you toss in the public coastal waters

Guides on public waters that are hunting out of a water craft or use water craft for transport must have proof of liability insurance and have a guide license from the state. Now I have no idea how the state handles outfitters and guides that hunt in flooded timber or along the coast? Waterfowl hunting is a completely different animal compared to upland bird hunting and big game hunting

A hunting guide on public water would not. The liability insurance and guide license only applys to fishing. Also, The hunting lease license makes no distinction between waterfowl, upland, or big game. It is for any "hunting rights". I would think private water would still be "property" that is "owned or controled". So public water should fall under the same analogy from TPWD you provided. But it obviously has never been enforced if that is true.

All-Water – Persons operating as a fishing guide in all public waters (salt water only or both fresh and salt water): For residents, the fee is $210 (Type 610). For non-residents, the fee is $1,050 (Type 710). No person operating a motorized vessel or boat as a fishing guide on or in the salt waters of this state may be issued a fishing guide license unless the person presents original documentation at the time of purchase that the applicant possesses a valid and appropriate U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Operator’s License. It is the operator’s responsibility to assure compliance with USCG regulations. For additional information, contact the USCG Regional Examination Center in Houston, Texas at (713) 948-3350.

Hunting Lease License (Types 132, 133 and 134)
Required of a landowner or landowner's agent who leases hunting rights to another person on property they own or control for pay or other consideration. The license must be displayed on the property. License fee: $79 for 1 through 499 acres; $147 for 500 through 999 acres; or $252 for 1,000 acres or more. NOTE: Hunting lease license record book no longer required.

I hear all the valid points but I still dont think its right to exclude people from guiding hunts on public land when you can guide fishing trips on public waters....and being from the lake Texoma area I really doubt all the people who bill them selves as guides are licensed even though they are routinely checked.

P.S. Having to purchase a "hunting lease license" to lease your property to some one else in B.S.- Like land owners in Texas dont pay enough taxes already.

As a Fishing guide on Public Lakes, I find this strangely amusing?

you can always move to Arkansas

check into leasing land (with proper licenses) to give folks remote access to public land. I have yet to see any regs for the NFs in the areas in question that say you have to use authorized roads for entry. Part of the lease game in our area is to lease private land bordering NF to make access to those remote areas as difficult as possible...especially those areas that are landlocked by creeks.