To the Honorable Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, TPWD Executive Director Carter Smith, TPWD White-tailed Deer Program Leader Alan Cain, and whomever it may concern:

We the undersigned, as residents and interested parties of Grayson County, Texas, respectfully wish to voice our opposition to the proposal before the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to open a rifle general deer season in our county. As you well know, this has been attempted on several previous occasions and has always been met with strong negative reaction and vocal opposition from Grayson County hunters, residents, and politicians.

The reasons for that opposition are simple and remain unchanged. First, we contend that deer are a scarce natural resource in our county, which has very limited and severely fragmented habitat at best. Second, we contend that aside from a single deer census hastily conducted last fall (completed only after the regulatory process was underway for this proposal), there is little biological data from TPWD to support their belief that this proposal will not cause undue harm to our limited resource. Third, we contend that what has been in place here for upwards of 40 years (Grayson County opened to October Archery Only deer hunting in the 1980s, as did Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge) obviously works, giving our residents a means of hunting whitetails during the prime November rut without unduly harming population numbers or the age structure of our deer herd. Fourth, as the population of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex expands explosively north towards the Red River, and housing growth and business development’s like Texas Instrument’s $29 billion production plant coming to our local home, we are living on borrowed time for what we have here, a small quantity but high quality whitetail herd that will last only until the habitat gives way to bulldozers, concrete, and steel. And finally, we contend that in a state of 254 counties— and a look at TPWD’s own regulations book—it’s obvious that a one-size fits all wildlife and fisheries management policy doesn’t always work everywhere.

Our archery-only model is unique, it has been extended to other counties, and it has produced 15 Boone and Crockett Club caliber whitetails over the years. As you’re well aware, it takes
habitat, genetics, and age for deer to reach such lofty dimensions and achieve the mature status necessary for such growth. It’s obvious that what we have here works—a way of hunting that your own agency signed off on many years ago and allowed to happen—and we’re only asking you for a continuation of that very same thing.

In other words, if it isn’t broke, please don’t try and fix it.