Visitors headed to Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge on the next two hunt weekends will find large parts of it closed to the public.
Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge will hold archery-only white-tailed deer hunts Nov. 20-22 and Dec. 4-6, according to a notice posted by the Friends of Hagerman, the volunteer group that supports the refuge. During each hunt the Harris Creek, Big Mineral and Sandy units will be off limits. Two trails, Raasch and Haller's Haven, will stay open to hikers.
The hunts are not open to the public at large. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says Hagerman allows deer, turkey and feral hog hunting only through a limited quota, with permits handed out by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department after a random drawing.
The agency's hunting page says the bow season for deer normally spans three weekends in November and December, with dates and open areas changing from year to year, and it tells hunters to check both refuge rules and state regulations.
Outside the closures, the refuge keeps its usual hours. The Friends group says Hagerman is open every day from sunrise to sunset, charges nothing for entry or parking, and lets visitors drive any road that is not gated.
Nestboxes for the holidays
The Friends of Hagerman are also promoting their Adopt-a-Nestbox program as a Christmas gift. A $50 sponsorship pays toward upkeep of the refuge's Bluebird Trail, which has 45 nestboxes spread around the property, according to the group's website. Sponsors pick a name of up to 15 letters for their box, and the box is named for the buyer if that field is left blank.
When the sponsorship is a gift, both the giver and the recipient get weekly email updates, the site says. Volunteer Cathy Van Bebber told KXII that adopters can visit their box along one of the refuge's trails and that boxes are handed out by random draw.
