(Introduction
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The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD or Department) primary functions are management and conservation of Texas’ natural resources, provision of outdoor recreational opportunities and management of historic sites. It also acts as a catalyst for private sector activity to increase conservation and outdoor recreational opportunities in the state.
The Department performs a number of important functions to protect natural resources, including regulating possession or transport of nongame species, regulating the take of game species and enforcing those regulations. These functions require that the Department conduct surveys of fish and game populations, create harvest estimates, educate the public about regulations and investigate potential violations. It is also required to promote public safety on Texas waterways as well as the safe operation and use of recreational boating and other watercraft. The Department’s regulation and enforcement authority is straightforward, but providing for conservation and recreation needs is a broader and more complex mandate that requires strategic planning and implementation.
Over the years, TPWD has
acquired parks, historic
sites and wildlife management
areas to provide public
access to the outdoors and
to conserve important natural
and cultural resources.
It has developed programs
for habitat conservation
on private lands and has
promoted water conservation
to support the needs of
fish and wildlife. Yet the
Department has never completed
a comprehensive analysis
of natural, historic and
recreation needs in Texas,
and it has never developed
a strategic plan to meet
these needs. Without a comprehensive
plan, TPWD has been limited
in making strategic or
long-term decisions.
Many studies of land and wildlife conservation, public recreation and historic preservation have been conducted recently on behalf of, or in partnership with, the Department. The prevalent theme emerging from these studies is the need for a comprehensive plan to guide TPWD conservation programs and development of outdoor recreational opportunities.
In addition, the National Park Service requires each state’s park agency to update a Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan every five years to be eligible for Land and Water Conservation Funds. Eligibility for this program allows the Department to receive matching grants for land acquisition and construction of recreational facilities on state and local parks. The Land and Water Resources Conservation and Recreation Plan will serve as Texas’ comprehensive plan and meet the National Park Services’ eligibility requirements.
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