ALLIGATOR NUISANCE CONTROL PROGRAM IN TEXAS: PROBLEM AND PROCESS

Authors

Lee Ann Johnson, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, 10 Parks and Wildlife Drive, Port Arthur, Texas
David S. Lobpries, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Wharton, TX
Bruce G. Thompson, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Austin. TX

Date of this Version

December 1985

Abstract

Following protection of the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) in Texas beginning in 1969, alligator numbers have increased rapidly (Patter 1981). Such population increases led to the federal reclassification of the species from Endangered to Threatened--Similarity of Appearance in 1983 in Texas (Bowman 1983). Similarity of appearance classification acknowledges the biological security of the Texas alligator population and the need for specific harvest controls to ensure that the conservation of similar appearing species is not compromised.