A new 2,850-acre Wildlife Management Area in North-Central Texas and a 2,500-acre expansion on the Gulf Coast will create additional public hunting opportunities for Texas hunters.
Texas hunters will have thousands of additional acres of public land to hunt following two significant acquisitions by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) this summer. Together, the new Robbie Davis Wildlife Management Area and an expansion of the Justin Hurst Wildlife Management Area add approximately 5,350 acres to lands managed by TPWD.
The acquisitions are particularly notable in Texas, where the vast majority of land is privately owned and access can be one of the biggest obstacles facing hunters.
New 2,850-Acre Robbie Davis WMA
On August 3, TPWD acquired approximately 2,850 acres in Stephens County, about 10 miles northeast of Breckenridge. The property has been designated the Robbie Davis Wildlife Management Area and will become part of TPWD’s Cross Timbers and Prairies Ecosystem Management Project.
The property includes post oak and live oak forests, ponds, seasonal drainages, rocky sandstone hillsides and bluffs representative of the western Cross Timbers. TPWD specifically cited public hunting as one of the major benefits of acquiring the property, noting that relatively little public hunting land is currently available in this part of Texas.
For hunters, TPWD plans to provide walk-in dove hunting and drawn hunts for white-tailed deer and turkey, with waterfowl hunting also potentially available. The agency has said its goal is to have the new WMA ready for public hunting beginning with the 2027–28 hunting season, meaning hunters should not expect the property to be available during the current 2026–27 season.
Justin Hurst WMA Grows by Another 2,500 Acres
The Stephens County acquisition follows another major addition announced earlier this summer. In June, TPWD announced the addition of approximately 2,500 acres to the Justin Hurst Wildlife Management Area in Brazoria County, along the Texas Gulf Coast.
The acquisition increased the connected conserved landscape at Justin Hurst WMA to more than 17,500 acres. The newly protected property consists primarily of coastal prairie, wetlands and tidal marsh and provides important habitat for mottled ducks and other migratory waterfowl, shorebirds and coastal wildlife.
TPWD’s plans call for the new acreage to eventually be incorporated into the broader public-access system at Justin Hurst. When the acquisition was considered by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, TPWD specifically noted that the additional acreage would provide additional hunting locations at the WMA.
Justin Hurst already provides public hunting through Texas’ drawn-hunt system. Current 2026–27 opportunities include drawn hunts for feral hogs and youth deer hunts, among others. Hunters should therefore watch future TPWD hunt catalogs to see when and how the newly acquired acreage becomes incorporated into hunting opportunities.
Why the Acquisitions Matter for Texas Hunters
Public hunting access is particularly valuable in Texas because so much of the state’s hunting takes place on private property. TPWD’s Public Hunting Program currently provides access to more than one million acres across the state, including WMAs, state parks, land managed by other government agencies and private property leased for public hunting.
For the 2026–27 season, the state’s $48 Annual Public Hunting Permit provides hunting access to more than 180 areas, including opportunities for deer, feral hogs, dove, quail, turkey, waterfowl, rabbits and squirrels. Drawn hunts provide another route to hunting certain WMAs and other public properties.
The Robbie Davis acquisition is especially significant because it establishes an entirely new WMA rather than simply expanding an existing one. Meanwhile, the Justin Hurst addition increases the amount of connected public conservation land along the Gulf Coast while potentially creating additional hunting opportunities in the future.
Together, the two projects show TPWD continuing to expand both wildlife habitat conservation and public access in a state where obtaining a place to hunt can be difficult.
Find Texas Hunting Seasons and Regulations with Hunterizer
As new public hunting opportunities become available, hunters still need to know when they can hunt, what species are open, which regulations apply and what licenses or permits are required.
The Hunterizer app makes that information easier to find by putting Texas hunting seasons, hunting zones, legal weapons, bag limits, shooting hours and other important regulations in one place. Hunters can quickly check what they can hunt today and review the rules before heading into the field.
For the new Robbie Davis WMA, hunters should remember that TPWD is still preparing the property for public use. Watch for future TPWD announcements and the 2027–28 public hunting information for specific hunt dates, application requirements and access rules once hunting officially opens.
