The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is partnering with Guadalupe River Trout Unlimited to conserve Guadalupe bass in the Guadalupe River following flooding. The organization donated $20,000 raised through its Mend the River events to improve facilities used to raise and stock the official state fish.
The donation will support improvements and expansion at TPWD’s Heart of the Hills Fisheries Science Center. According to the department, the work will increase the center’s capacity to produce Guadalupe bass and other native fish for stocking.
TPWD’s Inland Fisheries Division began surveying the Guadalupe River shortly after the 2025 flood to assess effects on Guadalupe bass populations and their habitats and develop conservation strategies. The release did not report findings from those surveys.
Since the 1990s, the science center has raised and stocked more than 4 million Guadalupe bass in the Guadalupe River headwaters. TPWD said that work is intended to conserve the species and maintain populations that can support fishing.
Nate Smith, a research biologist at the center, said the department plans to continue restoration stocking in the upper Guadalupe River and throughout the Hill Country. TPWD said the facility improvements will also allow future work to breed and raise other Texas species of greatest conservation need, including the state-threatened blue sucker.
The department and partner organizations have also worked with riverside landowners on habitat restoration. They held three workshops for more than 100 flood-affected landowners, encouraging land-management practices intended to benefit riverbank and aquatic habitats.
Those partners coordinated the growing of 23,000 grasses and sedges suited to riverside areas and the purchase of 6,400 pounds of native seed for distribution to landowners at no cost. TPWD staff also organized planting events along Kerrville’s riverside trail network, where more than 100 volunteers installed nearly 2,000 live stakes of several tree species.
TPWD said it and its partners will continue Guadalupe bass conservation efforts. Readers can find information about fishing for the species on the department’s Guadalupe bass conservation page. You can also view a video created by TPWD about restoring this Texas Treasure.
Based on a news release from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Read the original TPWD release: TPWD Join Forces with Guadalupe River Trout Unlimited to Conserve Texas’ State Fish the Guadalupe Bass.
