Conclusion

For assistance with accessibility on any TPWD documents, please contact accessibility@tpwd.state.tx.us

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has operated without a comprehensive plan that addresses the conservation, recreation and historic needs of Texas. The Land and Water Resources Conservation and Recreation Plan provides this important guidance for the Department and fulfills the mandate of TPWD’s Sunset Legislation. This Plan will allow the Department to make strategic decisions regarding the location of new parks,
wildlife management areas or historic sites, the investment of resources for determining the needs of Texas’ waterways and its efforts with private landowners. It will guide actions on land acquisition and divestiture, historic site development, partnerships and implementation of programming to meet Texas’ growing conservation and recreation needs over the next ten years.

The foremost priorities identified in the Plan are:

• TPWD needs to provide more large recreational sites closer to the growing urban centers, ideally 5,000-acre recreation areas within 90-minutes of Texas’ largest cities.
• TPWD needs to expand efforts with private landowners to improve water quality and quantity through watershed management and conserve important wildlife habitat. TPWD must create new opportunities to increase public access for recreation, especially hunting, in collaboration with the landowner community.
• TPWD needs to more effectively communicate the value and importance of ensuring that adequate freshwater flows in Texas’ rivers and bays for fish, wildlife and recreation.

This Plan is not a static document. Every four years, new information will be gathered and developed, new needs and trends will be identified and the strategies and priorities of the Plan will reflect these changes. The first task for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is to evaluate its existing programs, facilities and services to ensure that they complement the Department’s legislative mandate, its mission and this Plan. TPWD will scrutinize existing planning documents to determine if they are in line with this report and will use this document and as a critical budgetary tool.

TPWD is not the sole provider of conservation programs or recreational sites in Texas. This report is a comprehensive assessment of how the Department’s sites and programs work within the framework of federal, state, local and private entities. Given limited resources, the Department will coordinate with private organizations, local governments and federal and state agencies to facilitate improved public access to the outdoors and to improve conservation of land and water statewide.

Wherever possible, the Department will combine its conservation and recreation efforts. This will conserve significant landscapes, provide public access to the outdoors and provide opportunities to educate visitors about the importance of wildlife, water and other natural resources. For example, conservation of an important habitat type or representative examples of the ecoregion will be a priority when acquiring lands for recreation near major population centers.

Many of the priorities, strategies and goals established in this report will require additional funding. Currently, the Department does not have the financial resources to purchase or develop a new state park, wildlife management area, historic site or fish hatchery. In addition, reallocating the resources necessary to double land under wildlife management plans and complete instream flow studies will be challenging. Many of the goals in the Plan will require a mix of traditional public funding and increasing private sector involvement because of the finite public resources available. TPWD must rely on private market solutions in order to attract resources, entrepreneurs and capital.

The window of opportunity for conservation of natural resources and providing adequate access for outdoor recreation in Texas is closing. The state’s population is expanding rapidly, land fragmentation is increasing and water resources are already stretched in many areas. Failure to ensure adequate water for wildlife now will impose a great cost on the citizens of Texas in the future. The loss or decline of these resources will have a greater impact on the economy than is readily apparent: it will negatively impact local economic development from the loss of hunting, fishing and other recreational tourism; it will increase state and federal regulations; it will increase costs to businesses and industries; and it will impact public services including municipal water supply and treatment. Furthermore, the cost of acquiring land to serve the public’s recreational needs will also increase over time.

The state is changing rapidly and this Land and Water Resources Conservation and Recreation Plan is an effort to meet the challenges of the new century. The necessary conservation of land and water and provision of recreational opportunities will require a renewed effort and commitment from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, state leaders, conservation and recreation organizations, the private sector and citizens.

Maps, Graphs and Tables Section Available for Download (PDF 4.2 MB)