The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is accepting project proposals for its Habitat and Angler Access Program for the 2028-29 fiscal year funding cycle, the agency announced Sept. 18.
The program funds work that expands shoreline and bank fishing access and that restores or enhances fish habitat in the state’s public inland waters. TPWD said proposals will be accepted beginning at 5 p.m. Sept. 18 and closing at 11:59 p.m. Dec. 31, with approved projects announced in spring 2027 and a completion deadline of Aug. 31, 2029.
“The Habitat and Angler Access Program is an exciting opportunity for us to collaborate and support partners interested in expanding fishing opportunities and bettering the quality of fisheries for Texans and our visitors,” said Michael Homer Jr., a fisheries biologist and program coordinator for TPWD’s Inland Fisheries Division. He said the program is meant to identify and implement projects “with the highest potential to enhance freshwater fisheries resources and improve bank and shoreline fishing access in public waters.”
Since 2021, the program has supported 47 projects with more than $2 million in funding drawn primarily from freshwater fishing license sales, along with more than $2.5 million in matching contributions from partners, according to the release. Eligible partners include other state and federal agencies, local municipalities, water authorities, educational institutions, angler-based organizations, tribal groups and other nonprofits.
The agency said potential partners are required to contact its inland fisheries biologists and program staff to discuss ideas and develop proposals rather than submitting them independently.
Habitat work eligible for funding includes bank and shoreline stabilization, erosion control features, deployment of habitat structures, native vegetation plantings and dredging of excess silt and organic material from reservoirs with strong potential for fisheries development, TPWD said. Access projects can include new or improved fishing piers, fish-attracting features such as underwater dock lighting, jetties, and launches for kayaks, canoes and other non-motorized craft.
Projects completed or nearing completion in the current 2026-27 cycle include habitat enhancement at Lake Brownwood, multipurpose fishing piers at Kirby and Fort Phantom Hill lakes, a habitat and access project at Memory Lake in Coleman, a fishing pier expansion at Settler’s Park in Grapevine, a pier and kayak launch at Lake Muenster and riparian stabilization at Garner State Park, the department said.
Proposals may be submitted to Homer or to the program’s grants inbox, and TPWD said requirements are posted on the program’s request-for-proposals webpage. The agency said the projects it selects are intended to give anglers more places to fish from shore across Texas public waters.