PARKS AND WILDLIFE CODE
SUBTITLE I. PROTECTED FRESHWATER AREAS
CHAPTER 90. ACCESS TO PROTECTED FRESHWATER AREAS
§ 90.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Emergency" means a condition or circumstance in
which a person reasonably believes that an individual has sustained
serious bodily injury or is in imminent danger of serious bodily
injury or that property has sustained significant damage or
destruction or is in imminent danger of significant damage or
destruction.
(2) "Motor vehicle" means any wheeled or tracked
vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer propelled or
drawn by mechanical power and used to transport a person or thing.
(3) "Navigable river or stream" means a river or
stream that retains an average width of 30 or more feet from the
mouth or confluence up.
(4) "Protected freshwater area" means that portion of
the bed, bottom, or bank of any navigable river or stream that lies
at or below the gradient boundary of the river or stream. The term
does not include that portion of a bed, bottom, or bank that lies
below tidewater limits.
Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 800, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
§ 90.002. OPERATION OF MOTOR VEHICLE IN PROTECTED
FRESHWATER AREA PROHIBITED. Except as provided by Section 90.003
or 90.004, a person may not operate a motor vehicle in or on a
protected freshwater area on or after January 1, 2004.
Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 800, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
§ 90.003. EXEMPTIONS. (a) Section 90.002 does not
apply to:
(1) a state, county, or municipal road right-of-way;
(2) a private road crossing established on or before
December 31, 2003; or
(3) operation of a motor vehicle by:
(A) a federal, state, or local government
employee if operation of a motor vehicle is necessary for
conducting official business;
(B) a person if operation of a motor vehicle is
necessary for reasonable purposes related to usual and customary
agricultural activities;
(C) a person if operation of a motor vehicle is
necessary to and is authorized by a mineral lease;
(D) a person if operation of a motor vehicle is
necessary to and authorized by a crossing easement granted by the
General Land Office under the Natural Resources Code;
(E) a person if operation of a motor vehicle is
necessary to an activity authorized by Chapter 86;
(F) a person in response to an emergency;
(G) a person if operation of a motor vehicle is
necessary for the lawful construction, operation, or maintenance of
equipment, facilities, or structures used for:
(i) the production, transportation,
transmission, or distribution of electric power;
(ii) the provision of telecommunications
services or other services delivered through a cable system;
(iii) the transportation of aggregates,
oil, natural gas, coal, or any product of oil, natural gas, or coal;
(iv) the production, treatment, or
transportation of water or wastewater; or
(v) dredge material disposal placement;
(H) an owner of the uplands adjacent to a
protected freshwater area, the owner's agent, lessee, sublessee, or
the lessee or sublessee's agent, representative, licensee,
invitee, or guest for reasonable purposes related to usual and
customary operation of:
(i) a camp regulated under Chapter 141,
Health and Safety Code; or
(ii) a retreat facility owned and operated
by a nonprofit corporation chartered under the laws of this state
before January 1, 1970; or
(I) an owner of the adjacent uplands on both
sides of a protected freshwater area and the owner's agents,
employees, representatives, and lessees only for the purpose of
accessing the owner's property on the opposite side of the
protected freshwater area when no reasonable alternate access is
available.
(b) This chapter does not apply to any river with headwaters
in a state other than Texas and a mouth or confluence in a state
other than Texas.
(c) A person exempt under this section who operates a motor
vehicle in or on a protected freshwater area shall do so in a manner
that avoids, to the extent reasonably possible, harming or
disturbing vegetation, wildlife, or wildlife habitat within the
protected freshwater area. A person exempt under this section who
is crossing a protected freshwater area shall cross by the most
direct feasible route.
Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 800, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
§ 90.004. LOCAL RIVER ACCESS PLAN. (a) A county,
municipality, or river authority may adopt a written local plan to
provide access to a protected freshwater area located within the
county's geographical boundaries or the river authority's or
municipality's jurisdiction.
(b) A local plan adopted under Subsection (a) may:
(1) notwithstanding Section 90.002, allow limited
motor vehicle use in a protected freshwater area;
(2) provide for the county, municipality, or river
authority to collect a fee from a person accessing a protected
freshwater area, the amount of which may not exceed the estimated
cost that the county, municipality, or river authority incurs by
allowing the limited use of motorized vehicles in protected
freshwater areas within its jurisdiction; or
(3) establish other measures consistent with the
policy and purposes of this chapter.
(c) Before a local plan adopted under Subsection (a) may
take effect, a county, municipality, or river authority must file
the plan with the department. A local plan does not take effect
until the plan is approved in writing by the department.
(d) The department may approve, disapprove, or modify a
local plan filed under Subsection (c). In determining whether to
approve, disapprove, or modify a local plan, the department shall
consider whether the plan:
(1) protects fish, wildlife, water quality, and other
natural resources;
(2) protects public safety;
(3) provides for adequate enforcement;
(4) coordinates with adjacent and overlapping
jurisdictions;
(5) provides for and publicizes adequate public access
to a protected freshwater area;
(6) provides for adequate public services relating to
access to a protected freshwater area; and
(7) protects private property rights.
(e) The department by rule may adopt additional criteria or
procedures to govern approval of local plans. Lack of rules adopted
under this section alone is not a sufficient basis for rejecting a
local plan.
(f) The department may conduct periodic reviews of a local
plan filed under Subsection (c) to monitor the effectiveness of the
plan.
(g) A person who has reason to believe that a local plan
filed under Subsection (c) does not comply with this section may
file a petition for revocation of the plan with the department.
(h) The department shall revoke approval of a local plan if
the department finds, as a result of a periodic review conducted
under Subsection (f) or a petition for revocation filed under
Subsection (g), that the plan as implemented fails to meet any of
the criteria for approval established by Subsection (d).
(i) The department may adopt rules necessary to implement
this section and Section 90.002, including rules relating to
locations from which a person may launch or retrieve a vessel by
trailer from the banks of a protected freshwater area. For purposes
of this subsection, "vessel" has the meaning assigned by Section
12.101.
Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 800, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
§ 90.005. ASSISTANCE FROM DEPARTMENT. (a) The
department shall assist a requesting county, municipality, or river
authority in developing a local plan.
(b) A county, municipality, or river authority implementing
a local plan shall remit to the department 20 percent of the
county's, municipality's, or river authority's gross receipts from
fees charged under Section 90.004(b)(2) to offset the department's
administrative costs associated with implementing this chapter.
Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 800, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
§ 90.006. STUDIES. The department may conduct studies
necessary to implement this chapter.
Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 800, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
§ 90.007. LANDOWNER RIGHTS. (a) A prescriptive
easement over private property cannot be created by recreational
use of a protected freshwater area, including by portage over or
around barriers, scouting of obstructions, or crossing of private
property to or from a protected freshwater area.
(b) Nothing in this section shall limit the right of a
person to navigate in, on, or around a protected freshwater area.
Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 800, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
§ 90.008. PUBLIC ACCESS. (a) Except as otherwise
allowed by law, a person may not restrict, obstruct, interfere
with, or limit public recreational use of a protected freshwater
area.
(b) This section does not allow the public to use private
property to gain access to a protected freshwater area without
permission of the landowner.
Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 800, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
§ 90.009. MOTOR VEHICLE RECREATION SITES. (a) The
department shall establish a program to identify and to facilitate
the development of motor vehicle recreation sites that are not
located in or on a protected freshwater area. The department shall
seek the cooperation of political subdivisions, landowners,
nonprofit groups, and other interested persons in identifying and
facilitating the development of motor vehicle recreation sites
under this subsection.
(b) The department shall seek and use funding from the
federal government and other sources outside the general revenue
fund to identify and facilitate the development of motor vehicle
recreation sites under Subsection (a).
Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 800, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
§ 90.010. ENFORCEMENT. All peace officers of this state
shall enforce the provisions of this chapter.
Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 800, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
§ 90.011. PENALTY. (a) A person commits an offense if
the person violates Section 90.002 or 90.008.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), an offense under
Subsection (a) is a Class C misdemeanor.
(c) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this
section that the defendant was previously convicted two or more
times under Section 90.002 or 90.008, on conviction the defendant
shall be punished for a Class B misdemeanor.
(d) Each violation under this section is a separate offense.
(e) Notwithstanding Section 12.403 of this code, Subchapter
B, Chapter 12, Penal Code, applies to punishments under this
section.
Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 800, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
