Texas opens Habitat and Angler Access proposals for the FY 2028–29 cycle

Texas Parks and Wildlife is taking the next round of bank-access and fish-habitat projects. A Sept. 18, 2026, news release out of Austin says the Habitat and Angler Access Program (HAAP) is open for fiscal year 2028–29 proposals that add shoreline and bank fishing access or restore habitat in public inland waters.

Read the deadline on the live page before you file. The release’s closing instructions say proposals go to HAAP supervisor Michael Homer Jr. at michael.homer@tpwd.texas.gov or FishGrants@tpwd.texas.gov beginning at 5 p.m. CDT Sept. 18 through 11:59 p.m. Dec. 31, 2026. Approved projects would be announced in spring 2027 and must be finished by Aug. 31, 2029. An earlier sentence in the same release says proposals for fiscal years 2028–29 will be accepted until Dec. 31, 2027.

Partners have to work the idea up with a TPWD Inland Fisheries biologist and the HAAP team before they submit. Eligible partners include other agencies, cities, water authorities, schools, angler groups, tribal groups, and other nonprofits. Since 2021 the program has backed 47 projects with more than $2 million, mostly from freshwater license sales, plus more than $2.5 million in partner match. Habitat work in the release includes bank stabilization, erosion control, habitat structures, native plants, and silt removal. Access work includes fishing piers, fish-attracting features, jetties, and launches for kayaks and other small craft.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: TPWD — Habitat and Angler Access Program now accepting proposals for FY 2028–29 (Sept. 18, 2026). Program page: HAAP.