Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission
Public Hearing
January 25, 2001
Commission Hearing RoomTexas Parks & Wildlife Department Headquarters Complex
4200 Smith School Road
Austin, TX 78744
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7 BE IT REMEMBERED that heretofore on the
8 25th day of January, 2001, there came on to be
9 heard matters under the regulatory authority of
10 the Parks and Wildlife Commission of Texas, in the
11 commission hearing room of the Texas Parks and
12 Wildlife Headquarters complex, Austin, Travis
13 County, Texas, beginning at 9:12 a.m., to wit:
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APPEARANCES:
16 THE PARKS AND WILDLIFE COMMISSION:
Lee M. Bass, Fort Worth, Texas, Chairman
17 Dick W. Heath, Carrollton, Texas
Nolan Ryan, Alvin, Texas
18 Ernest Angelo, Jr., Midland, Texas
John Avila, Jr., Fort Worth, Texas (Absent)
19 Carol E. Dinkins, Houston, Texas
Alvin L. Henry, Houston, Texas
20 Katharine Armstrong Idsal, San Antonio, Texas
Mark E. Watson, Jr., San Antonio, Texas
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THE PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT:
22 Andrew H. Sansom, Executive Director, and
other personnel of the Parks and Wildlife
23 Department.
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1 OTHER APPEARANCES:
2 ANNE OCHOA, City of Lago Vista, 20905
Ridgeview Road, Lago Vista, TX 78645
3
GILBERT ALLISON, Brookside Village Texas
4 6427 Clear Creek, Brookside Village, TX 77581
5 MARY ELLIOTT, City of Arlington Parks Dept
717 West Main Street, Arlington, TX 76013
6
JANET SIMPSON, City of Denton Parks and
7 Recreation Deptartment, 321 East McKinney,
Denton, TX 76201
8
BOB DUKE, Sienna Plantation MUD, 2 1815 K,
9 Galveston, TX 77550
10 DOCK JACKSON, Council member, City of
Bastrop, Drawer X, Bastrop, TX 78602
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SANDRA CHIPLEY, City of Bastrop Parks Board,
12 402 Cedar, Bastrop, TX 78602
13 HENRY WISE, USHGA, TFFA, HHGA, 915 Longview,
Sugarland, TX 77478
14
FRED BURNS, 3210 Bonita, La Porte, TX 77571
15
ELLIS GILLELAND, Texas Animals, Post Office
16 Box 9001, Austin, TX 78766
17 THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS WERE "OBSERVED ONLY":
TOM SCOTT, City of Bastrop, Bastrop, TX
18 78602
19 JOHN JEFFERSON, 10433 Firethorn Lane,
Austin, TX 78750
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21 MEREDITH WHITTEN, Sunset Advisory Commission
22 KARLEN "SISU" MORRIS, Marina Association of
Texas, 1717 Sycamore Creek Drive, Dripping
23 Springs, TX 78620
24
DAVID WOLFE, Environmental Defense,
25 44 East Avenue, Austin, TX 78701
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1 OTHER APPEARANCES (Continued):
2
GORDON ROBERTSON, LCRA
3
GLENN HOLZER, City of Pflugerville, Post
4 Office Box 589, Pflugerville, TX 78638
5 AMY ATKINS, City of Pflugerville, Post
Office Box 589, Pflugerville, TX 78691
6
MATT LOPEZ, Capelo, 3506 Manchaca, Suite
7 193, Austin, TX 78704
8 DAVID ANDERSON, Texas A&M, College Station,
TX 78843
9
CLYDE WOERNER, Doss Wildlife Association,
10 4101 East Hwy 29, Georgetown, TX 78626
11 BENNO ECKERT, 10837 Lower Crabapple Road,
Fredericksburg, TX 78624
12
PRESLEY ARCHELGER, Doss WMA,
13 8752 Salt Branch Loop, Doss, TX 78618
14 L. REX COX, El Paso City Parks and
Recreation Deptartment, 2 Livie Center,
15 El Paso, TX 79902
16 DENNIS JONES, Mayor, City of Lago Vista,
5301 Thunderbird, Lago Vista, TX 78645
17
DOROGHY LAUTERBACH, Lago Vista, Post Office
18 Box 4091, Lago Vista, TX 78645
19 HELEN BREWER, Post Office Box 393, Fort
Davis, TX 79739, Big Horn Transplant Project
20
DAVID K. LANGFORD, Texas Wildlife
21 Association
22 JOE MILSTEAD, Brookside Village Texas, 12418
Sunbrook Drive, Brookside Village, TX 77581
23
LORI VILEK, LCRA, 3700 Lake Austin
24 Boulevard, Austin, TX 78748
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OTHER APPEARANCES (Continued):
2
MARGARET HARDIN, Langford Community
3 Management Services, 13740 Research Blvd, Suite
G-1, Austin, TX 78750
4
JUDY LANGFORD, Langford Community Management
5 Services, 13740 Research Blvd, Austin, TX 78750
6 BRIAN SYBERT, Sierra Club, Post Office Box
1931, Austin, TX 78751, Shrimp Briefing
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1 JANUARY 25, 2001
2 MORNING SESSION:
3 *-*-*-*-*
4 PUBLIC HEARING
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6 CHAIRMAN BASS: Good morning. I'd
7 like to call this meeting of the Parks and
8 Wildlife Commission to order. And Mr. Sansom,
9 would you please read our opening statement for us
10 today.
11 MR. SANSOM: Mr. Chairman, a public
12 notice of this meeting containing all items on the
13 proposed agenda has been filed in the Office of
14 Secretary of State. This is required by Chapter
15 551 of the Government Code and referred to as the
16 Open Meetings Law. I would like for this action
17 to be noted in the official record of the meeting.
18 Ladies and gentlemen, we are very
19 pleased to have you-all here this morning, and
20 welcome you and look forward to hearing your
21 comments.
22 The Chairman is in charge of the
23 meeting. And as usual, I'll be assisting him
24 today as kind of a sergeant at arms. I want to
25 remind you that, if you'd like to speak, you need
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1 to go outside and fill out a card because the
2 Chairman will use those cards to call your name
3 and when to come forward.
4 When your name is called, please
5 come to the podium here in front of me, state your
6 name and who you represent, if anyone other than
7 yourself. The Chairman may also, in order to kind
8 of expedite the meeting, call the next person in
9 line. And if you could come to the back of the
10 room and stand and be ready, then we could move
11 the meeting along more expeditiously.
12 Each person who wants to address the
13 Commission will have three minutes to speak. And
14 I'll use this little traffic light here to keep
15 track of the time here and notify you when your
16 three minutes are up. Your time will be extended
17 if a Commissioner asks you a question. That won't
18 count against your three minutes. Or if they're
19 going to discuss something amongst themselves,
20 that time will not be counted against you, either.
21 I would ask, as always, that you be
22 courteous, that you show proper respect for the
23 Commissioners, our staff, and other members of the
24 audience. If you have materials that you would
25 like to submit, Ms. Estrada here on my right will
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1 take them and distribute them to the Commission.
2 So please do not attempt to hand anything directly
3 to the board. Once again, I welcome you here
4 today, and we all look forward to hearing your
5 comments.
6 CHAIRMAN BASS: Thank you. The
7 first order of business will be approval of
8 minutes from our previous meeting that have been
9 distributed to the Commission. Are there any
10 comments on those? The Chair would entertain a
11 motion.
12 COMMISSIONER ANGELO: So move.
13 COMMISSIONER IDSAL: Second.
14 CHAIRMAN BASS: Motion is seconded.
15 All in favor? Any opposed? Thank you.
16 (Motion passed unanimously.)
17 Secondly, the acceptance of gifts.
18 Since our last meeting, which has been published
19 as part of the public record, over a million
20 dollars of gifts from various -- 30 different
21 givers for the benefit of the Department and its
22 programs. And if there's any discussion or a
23 motion to accept those.
24 COMMISSIONER ANGELO: Move that
25 those be accepted.
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1 COMMISSIONER HEATH: Second.
2 CHAIRMAN BASS: Motion and a second.
3 All in favor? Any opposed? Thank you.
4 (Motion passed unanimously.)
5 TPWD DONATIONS OF $500 OR MORE
6 (Donors are listed in the following order:
Donor; Description; Purpose of Donation)
7
(1) COASTAL CONSERVATION ASSN.; 24' Boston
8 Whaler Rig; Law Enforcement
9 (2) COASTAL CONSERVATION ASSN.; 26' Boston
Whaler Rig; Law Enforcement
10
(3) COASTAL CONSERVATION ASSN.; (2) 200 Hp
11 Mercury Outboards; Law Enforcement
12 (4) WALMART FOUNDATION; CASH; To assist Marine
Development Center Prgs
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(5) DUCKS UNLIMITED; ATV and Trailer; To assist
14 wetland habitat management and monitoring
15 (6) FRIENDS OF PERDERNALES FALLS, SP; CASH;
Improve hiking/equestrian trail system
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(7) WEST TEXAS CHAPTER SAFARI CLUB
17 INTERNATIONAL; CASH; Research Study
18 (8) TEXAS WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION; CASH; Printing
of Publication
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(9) WASHINGTON-ON-THE-BRAZOS SP ASSN.; (2)
20 Percheron Horses; To provide horse-draw
wagon experiences at the Republic of Texas Complex
21
(10) WASHINGTON-ON-THE-BRAZOS SP ASSN.; Wagon
22 To provide horse-drawn wagon experiences at the
Republic of Texas Complex
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(11) WASHINGTON-ON-THE-BRAZOS SP ASSN; Harness;
24 to provide horse draw-wagon experiences at the
Republic of Texas Complex
25
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1 (12) MISSION TEJAS SP ASSN; (2) Info Max systems
To transmit information about the Rice Family Log
2 Home and the Mission commemorative
3 (13) TEXAS BIGHORN SOCIETY; (4) Cameras,
(1) Scope (1) Binoculars; Restoration of
4 desert bighorn sheep in Texas - Black Gap WMA
5 (14) TEXAS BIGHORN SOCIETY; (2) Cameras;
Restoration of desert bighorn sheep in Texas -
6 Black Gap WMA
7 (15) HILLCREST FOUNDATION; Materials for an
outdoor pavilion; To construct outdoor educational
8 pavilion for school groups and visitors
9 (16) ROBERT D. STUART JR.; CASH; Memorial Gift
10 (17) EMIL H. KASPER ESTATE; CASH; Estate Gift
11 (18) MARCH FOR PARKS OF COMMERCE; Heating/air
conditioning unit; To provide heating and air
12 conditioning in a park cottage
13 (19) CNG PRODUCING COMPANY/ DOMINION E&P INC.;
CASH & (2) water analyzers (3) Structures; To use
14 as enhancement of state artificial reefs and
equipment to monitor these structures for water
15 quality surface
16 (20) BILL A. BEALL; CASH; Lifetime License
Endowment Fund
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(21) NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION; CASH;
18 Wetland Restoration at Aquarena Springs
19 (22) TEMPLE-INLAND FOREST, INC.; CASH; Texas
Partners in Flight printing report
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(23) LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY WATER COMMITTEE;
21 CASH; Rio Grande Grass Carp Program
22 (24) S.M.A.R.T.; CASH; Lake Livingston & Lake
Raven hydrilla removal
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(25) THE CAIN FOUNDATION; CASH; TFFC Education
24
(26) WAYNE ANDERSON; CASH; LBJ habitat
25 restoration project
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1 (27) GREATER MISSION CHAMBER OF COMMERCE; CASH;
The Great Texas Birding Classic
2
(28) TRAVIS AUDUBON SOCIETY; CASH; The Great
3 Texas Birding Classic
4 (29) FANCY PUBLICATIONS; CASH; The Great Texas
Birding Classic
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(30) DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY; CASH; The Great Texas
6 Birding Classic
7 TOTAL: $1,045,105.69
8 CHAIRMAN BASS: Mr. Sansom, would
9 you please proceed with the --
10 MR. SANSOM: Mr. Chairman, if you
11 could join me at the podium, I would like at this
12 time to announce those who are being recognized
13 today of our staff of employees who are being
14 recognized for retirements or long years of
15 service to Parks and Wildlife.
16 This week I was up in the Governor's
17 policy offices in the insurance building and
18 noticed that on the walls there were photographs
19 made by photographers from Texas Parks and
20 Wildlife. If you go into virtually every capitol
21 office, there's somewhere in the room, there's a
22 picture that was taken by one of the staff here
23 over the many years that Parks and Wildlife
24 Magazine has been our flagship publication.
25 The person who, for all those years,
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1 has coordinated that photographic compilation and
2 distribution is Susie Ayala. Susie is retiring
3 today with 23 years of service, having been hired
4 originally by Bill Reeves, who is the current
5 photo editor of the magazine. During 23 years,
6 Susie saw the photo department evolve from one
7 that had color processing and printing in-house to
8 a current situation where most of our pictures are
9 scanned and e-mailed rather than printed and
10 framed.
11 Interestingly, Susie, and all of us
12 or anybody who has ever requested or had anything
13 to do with photography in Parks and Wildlife has
14 come to know very well, has the unique distinction
15 of also having been the model to a sculpture of a
16 Native American woman that is now part of the
17 display at Seminole Canyon. So next time you're
18 there, you'll see Susie in the display case.
19 This morning she's here to be
20 recognized for her retirement with 23 years of
21 service, Susie Ayala.
22 (Applause; photographs taken.)
23 MR. SANSOM: John D. LeLeux from law
24 enforcement. He's retiring today as a Game
25 Warden V with 28 years. He started work in 1972
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1 in Galveston. He worked in Calhoun County during
2 the worst of the commercial fishing disputes. And
3 today he is working in Kenedy in Karnes County,
4 where he has been for the last 22 years.
5 Please recognize, retiring with 28
6 years of service to Texas Parks and Wildlife as a
7 state Game Warden, John D. LeLeux, Jr.
8 (Applause; photographs taken.)
9 MR. SANSOM: Jim Watt, not the one
10 you're thinking of, is still here. He is not
11 retiring, but he is being recognized today for 35
12 years of service. He started working in the
13 Planning and Design Construction Branch which is
14 now our Infrastructure Division. In that
15 responsibility he did the original plans for
16 Eisenhower State Park, he worked on Goliad,
17 Bentsen Rio Grande, Palo Duro, Stephen F. Austin,
18 Monahans Sandhills, and more.
19 He was the head of the Local
20 Assistance Section when Tim Hogsett was hired. So
21 he was the guy that brought Tim Hogsett to Parks
22 and Wildlife.
23 Jim Watt is known throughout this
24 state now, because during his tenure as the head
25 of Planning Assistance to small communities, over
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1 567 park plans have been prepared for 549 Texas
2 cities and counties through his service. Please
3 recognize James Watt from State Parks, with 35
4 years of service to Parks and Wildlife.
5 (Applause; photographs taken.)
6 MR. SANSOM: For 30 years Tommy
7 Davidson has gained a reputation here that is
8 second to none. Members, each day we receive
9 probably three to four thousand pieces of mail.
10 During the course of the year, we receive over 1.3
11 million pieces of mail. Each one of those pieces
12 of mail has to be individually cataloged. If
13 there's money in it, it has to be handled a
14 certain way. And the guy that has developed the
15 reputation for thoroughness and honesty in
16 customer service is Tommy Davidson.
17 He started as a Clerk in the License
18 Section in 1969. Unfortunately, he left us for a
19 while, but he came back in 1982. And he spent the
20 last 16 years diligently processing all that
21 incoming revenue and nonrevenue mail to the
22 Department. Please recognize Administrative
23 Technician, Tommy Davidson, with 30 years of
24 service.
25 (Applause; photographs taken.)
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1 MR. SANSOM: We have been -- the
2 Texas Parks and Wildlife has been recognized
3 nationally for its efforts to bring diverse
4 communities of people into the professions
5 represented in this Department. One of the most
6 successful programs that has been devised here for
7 that purpose is our internship program. Today we
8 have over a hundred interns representing all
9 ethnicities and genders and backgrounds who work
10 in our department through the course of the year,
11 principally in the summer, and then ultimately
12 many of those young people end up being permanent
13 employees of Parks and Wildlife.
14 Mary Alice Carlin, in Human
15 Resources assists in managing this great program.
16 She's worked here for 25 years. She serves as a
17 Human Resource Assistant in the Employment,
18 Recruitment and Retention Branch. But over her
19 career, she's been in Fisheries and Resource
20 Protection, Public Lands. And as I said, in the
21 last 19 years in the Human Resources Division.
22 Please recognize, with 25 years of
23 service to Texas Parks and Wildlife, Mary Alice
24 Carlin.
25 (Applause; photographs taken.)
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1 MR. SANSOM: It has been no secret
2 to, I know all of the members of the Board,
3 certainly everyone who works on our staff, the
4 power of data and the power of science. And time
5 and again, over the years that we've worked
6 together, we have seen that the principal tool
7 that we have in achieving conservation in Texas is
8 science and good information.
9 One of the people who has been most
10 instrumental in making sure that that data was
11 always available to you and to I and to others is
12 Don McCarty. Don became an employee with Parks
13 and Wildlife in October of 1975. He's been
14 instrumental in the development of the vegetation
15 types of Texas map from satellite data and has
16 been the primary scientist responsible for
17 conducting and maintaining over 25 years of Big
18 Game harvest data and over 15 years of Small Game
19 data.
20 Please recognize, with 25 years of
21 service in the Wildlife Division, Don M. McCarty.
22 (Applause; photographs taken.)
23 MR. SANSOM: Finally, everybody has
24 probably had the experience of coming to Texas
25 Wildlife Expo and seeing during that event a
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1 little lady with a lot of beautiful blonde hair
2 who is living in an RV right at the entrance to
3 the grounds. Diane Nelson is the queen of the
4 warehouse. She is the supervisor of our warehouse
5 operations and a major fixture both in the Texas
6 Game Warden Association and Wildlife Expo itself.
7 She started working in the warehouse
8 in 1980 and managed the Office Supply Section.
9 But very soon she began managing our uniform
10 operations and became known to everyone in the
11 state who had a uniform as part of their
12 responsibility.
13 Today, after 20 years, she is
14 supervisor of the warehouse operations. It is my
15 pleasure to introduce her to you today, Diane
16 Nelson, from the Administrative Resources
17 Division, with 20 years of service.
18 (Applause; photographs taken.)
19 MR. SANSOM: Mr. Chairman and
20 members, each year the Southeastern Association of
21 Fish and Wildlife Agencies recognizes a game
22 warden from each of the member states in the
23 southeast as officer of the year. This year is
24 the 30th year that this award has been presented
25 to a deserving game warden from Texas.
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1 Our officer for the Year 2000 is
2 Matt Robinson who graduated from the academy in
3 1982. He's worked in Kleberg County. He's worked
4 in Goldthwaite, and today he is stationed in
5 Rivera as a Game Warden V. Matt initiated the
6 teaching of hunter education in the Agriculture
7 Department at Rivera High School and has led his
8 district and his region in case quality and
9 production for the past seven years. Over the
10 last 18 years Matt has filed in excess of 5,000
11 cases.
12 And today we recognize him as the
13 Year 2000 Texas Officer of the Year for the
14 Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife
15 agencies. Please recognize Matt Robinson.
16 (Applause; photographs taken.)
17 MR. SANSOM: Now, before we get
18 down, let me also announce to you that Director
19 Jim Robertson was recognized last week by the
20 Safari Club International as the Conservation
21 Officer of the Year.
22 (Applause; photographs taken.)
23 MR. SANSOM: It gives me a great
24 deal of pleasure to -- now that Tim Peterson, our
25 new Creative Services Director has joined us,
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1 under the guidance of Lydia Saldana, to announce
2 Mr. Heath that, our new annual report is off the
3 press. It's got to be the most beautiful one
4 produced so far.
5 It shows an unbelievable example of
6 the creativity of the people who have participated
7 in putting it together. We will provide each of
8 you a copy, but I wanted to formally thank you for
9 initiating this process in our Department. It has
10 become a part of our culture and a key
11 communication tool during the course of our year.
12 We have a copy for each of you, but I wanted to
13 particularly thank Lydia and Tim and all of the
14 folks in Communications who worked on this year's
15 annual report. Thank you.
16 (Applause.)
17 CHAIRMAN BASS: Thank you,
18 Mr. Sansom. Thank you, Lori.
19 AGENDA ITEM NO. 1: ACTION - CONSENT AGENDA.
20 CHAIRMAN BASS: Okay. Now I'd like
21 to do approval of our agenda for today. We have
22 five items that are eligible to the consent
23 agenda, having been heard in committee and
24 approved at that level. And there is no public
25 comment at this point on these. It's Items 7, 8,
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1 10, 12, and 13. And the Chair would entertain a
2 motion to move those to the consent agenda.
3 COMMISSIONER HEATH: So moved.
4 VICE-CHAIR DINKINS: Second.
5 CHAIRMAN BASS: A motion and a
6 second. All in favor? Any opposed? Hearing
7 none, the Chair would entertain a motion to
8 approve the consent agenda for the record.
9 COMMISSIONER HEATH: Move.
10 VICE-CHAIR DINKINS: Second.
11 CHAIRMAN BASS: A motion and a
12 second. All in favor? Opposed? Hearing none,
13 the consent agenda passes.
14 (Motion passed unanimously.)
15 AGENDA ITEM NO. 2: ACTION - LOCAL PARK
16 FUNDING.
17 CHAIRMAN BASS: Item 2, local park
18 funding. Tim Hogsett, please.
19 MR. HOGSETT: Good morning,
20 Mr. Chairman, members of the Commission. I'm Tim
21 Hogsett from the Recreation Grants Program in the
22 State Parks Division. Item 2 is proposed funding
23 for local parks outdoor recreation grants. We
24 have received, as of our July 31st, 2000 deadline,
25 a total of 46 applications, requesting $17,322,833
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1 in matching funds.
2 You can find in Exhibit A a listing
3 of the projects. All projects have been scored,
4 rank ordered. Site visits have been performed on
5 all of these projects. And the -- we are
6 recommending funding for the top 12 applications,
7 for $5,511,794 in matching funds. And the
8 recommendation for the record is funding for
9 projects listed in Exhibit A in the amount of
10 $5,511,794 is approved as described for individual
11 projects in Exhibit B. I'd be glad to answer any
12 questions that you might have.
13 CHAIRMAN BASS: If there are no
14 questions at this time, we'd take public comment.
15 The Chair would first like to call Anne Ochoa.
16 Anne, if you would come forward and please speak
17 to us.
18 And Gilbert Allison, if you'd be
19 prepared to speak after Ms. Ochoa.
20 MS. OCHOA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
21 With me today from Lago Vista -- I am a city
22 council member of Lago Vista. And with me today
23 is two citizens, first Dorothy Louderbach, who is
24 a concerned citizen. She has been involved with
25 our funding for our grant application since the
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1 very beginning. This has been going on for a
2 couple of years. And also our mayor, Dennis
3 Jones, is here today. And so they came, and we're
4 expressing interest.
5 I stood before you six months ago,
6 having not been funded, and thanking you for your
7 consideration. And I do so today. And also six
8 months ago we promised to do better. Lago Vista
9 did do better with the help of Tim Hogsett and
10 Elaine Dill of your staff. And we also thank them
11 for their help. We improved in our score.
12 Last July our total score was 79,
13 and this year it was 97, almost a 20-point
14 improvement. Last July we were ranked number 26
15 out of 47. This year we were number 16. What
16 counts, though, to me, is in the process we
17 created a much better recreational facility to the
18 existing baseball stadium and the projects of
19 pool, wading pool, tennis courts and picnic area.
20 We added a pavilion, trails, a wild
21 scape demonstration project, a play fountain, a
22 sand volley ball court, slide structures, and
23 xeroscaping. We also included eight new civic
24 organizations as donors to those already
25 contributing. So we did much better this time
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1 around.
2 Unfortunately, the bar was raised.
3 Six months ago, as you may remember, the scores
4 ranged from 93 to 117, and this time it was 107 to
5 138, so we missed the bar. There's a lot of
6 numbers involved with this process, and numbers
7 are good. They take bias out and level the
8 playing field, but they don't reflect a mandate
9 that drives those of us from Lago Vista and why
10 you'll probably be seeing me here again in six
11 months.
12 We are located in a beautiful area
13 that borders on Lake Travis. Unfortunately, you
14 can't really teach children how to swim in a lake.
15 We also don't have any public parks in our city.
16 They are all privately owned by the property
17 owners association.
18 So our mandate was given to us in a
19 special election which was held last January. In
20 a city with one of the highest tax rates in the
21 state -- nothing to brag about, believe me -- our
22 voters came out in record numbers to approve a
23 bond election, and the bond election was what
24 allocated our matching funds to this project.
25 We promised during that election
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1 that the funds would be well spent. And we wanted
2 to get the biggest bang for our buck. So they're
3 going to be spent for the top of the line
4 recreational complex. But simply put, we need
5 this grant to fulfill that promise. So we're
6 going to reapply. You'll see us make an even
7 better project this time, and we are probably
8 going to be a little bit more creative in thinking
9 out of the box.
10 Ladies and gentlemen, thank you once
11 again for your time and consideration. We will be
12 back, and I sincerely hope we'll be back to thank
13 you for money well spent in Lago Vista. Thank you
14 very much.
15 MR. SANSOM: Thank you.
16 CHAIRMAN BASS: Appreciate your
17 persistence. And I wish you every success.
18 Mr. Allison, if you'd come forward.
19 And Mary Elliott, if you'd come
20 next.
21 MR. ALLISON: Good morning. I'm
22 Gilbert Allison from Brookside Village. With me
23 is Councilman Joe Milstead. I am a volunteer and
24 President of Planning and Zoning in Brookside
25 Village, Republican Chairman for Precinct 26.
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1 Brookside Village a very small town
2 in Northern Brazoria County. It's 40 percent
3 minority and over 50 percent retired. Since we
4 have no parks, private or public in our city or
5 recreational facilities anywhere near us without
6 leaving the county or driving a long-distance, a
7 concerted effort was made to build a park.
8 Working hand in hand with Mr. Seffel
9 and Mr. Logan, all of Texas Parks and Wildlife,
10 Mr. Hansen of Brazoria County Parks and Wildlife
11 and Mrs. Shanklin, a grant writer on loan from
12 Pearland Independent School District, we've built
13 a ten-year master plan and worked back and forth
14 the application until we answered all the
15 questions that we were asked and added everything
16 to this grant to get points that they could tell
17 us we needed.
18 Based on the work that had been done
19 and the information given to us, our grant writer
20 had from the state, she scored our grant somewhere
21 between 87 and 92 points. But what bothered us
22 more is that Mr. Logan of Texas Parks and Wildlife
23 had us at 89 points and showed the three of us the
24 numbers then told us how we could get some
25 additional points which were in the range from
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1 three to eight points to add to our total, which
2 would bring our total to somewhere between 92 and
3 97. So when we found out from Mr. Landale that we
4 had only scored 75 points, we were shocked and
5 would like to know what happened to our points.
6 What we would like to know, being a
7 small minority city in the State of Texas for over
8 40 years and never asking for anything from the
9 Texas Parks and Wildlife before, who can we work
10 with and can help us have a park and a place for
11 our seniors and our kids to have a safe place to
12 play outside? Because from our end of it, we got
13 bad information and unreal expectations from the
14 people we thought knew. Thank you.
15 CHAIRMAN BASS: Thank you,
16 Mr. Allison. I'm sure Mr. Hogsett and his staff
17 will be more than happy to work with you and help
18 rectify the confusion and do everything we can to
19 ensure your success in a future round.
20 MR. ALLISON: Thank you.
21 CHAIRMAN BASS: Mary Elliott.
22 And Janet Simpson, if you'd be
23 prepared to speak after Ms. Elliot. Good morning.
24 MS. ELLIOTT: Good morning. I'm
25 Mary Elliott with the City of Arlington Parks
.
26
1 Department, and I'm just here to thank the
2 Commission and the staff of Texas Parks and
3 Wildlife for consideration and approval of our
4 grant application. Thank you.
5 CHAIRMAN BASS: Thank you,
6 Ms. Elliott.
7 Janet Simpson, City of Denton.
8 Bob Duke, if you'd be prepared to
9 speak after Ms. Simpson.
10 MS. SIMPSON: Good morning. My
11 name is Janet Simpson, and I'm the Assistant
12 Director of the Parks and Recreation Department
13 for the City of Denton. I'm here today really
14 just to extend our appreciation for the funding of
15 the Cross Timbers Park grant. This is really a
16 unique project for our community in that it's
17 really the first opportunity that we've had to do
18 some preservation/conservation in our city.
19 It was really a grass roots effort
20 in our community. The residents in the
21 subdivision next to this property initiated the
22 project, helped write the grant, went out and did
23 fund-raising, brought in support from our ISD and
24 universities and local businesses and
25 corporations.
.
27
1 So we really had a broad range of
2 support, and it's really an important project for
3 our city, as we're experiencing very fast growth
4 at this point and watching our landscape
5 disappear.
6 I'd also like to thank the Texas
7 Parks and Wildlife staff, Joel Seffel, Elaine
8 Dill, and Tim Hogsett as always were very helpful
9 and very supportive to us in putting this
10 application together and answering questions for
11 us at all times. So once again, just thank you
12 for your support.
13 CHAIRMAN BASS: Thank you very much.
14 Bob Duke? And Dock Jackson, if you'd be prepared
15 to speak after Mr. Duke. Good morning.
16 MR. DUKE: Good morning. And I'm
17 here on behalf of Sienna Plantation Municipal
18 Utility District Number 2 and Fort Bend County.
19 And I want to express thanks to the Commission and
20 to the staff of the grants program for approving
21 the grant that was submitted for Sienna
22 Plantation. They have tried on a number of
23 occasions to get a grant for other projects and
24 were unsuccessful. So they are thankful that they
25 are successful in this round. And I would echo
.
28
1 appreciation for staff's efforts in helping make
2 this successful, as well. Thank you.
3 CHAIRMAN BASS: Thank you, Mr. Duke.
4 Dock Jackson.
5 And Sandra Chipley, if you'd be
6 prepared to speak after Mr. Jackson.
7 MR. JACKSON: Good morning. I am
8 Dock Jackson. I'm a council member from the City
9 of Bastrop. And I'd just like to thank the
10 Commission for looking at our grant and giving us
11 the -- hopefully, the ability to continue with the
12 parks system that we're developing in Bastrop.
13 The Bob Bryant Park is the park that we submitted
14 for grant. And looking at the scores, it seems
15 like you agree with us that it is an excellent
16 project.
17 We're real excited to bring more
18 parks to the City of Bastrop. This is going into
19 a new neighborhood that it will be their first
20 park.
21 The gentleman that was really
22 helpful in donating some of the land and working
23 with us, unfortunately, passed this last year.
24 And it definitely will be a tribute to him. And
25 we'd just like to thank you, thank your staff for
.
29
1 working with us, as well as the grant writers that
2 worked with us. It's truly a wonderful project
3 that you'll be excited to participate in and,
4 hopefully, you'll get a chance to see it when we
5 complete it.
6 And I just want to thank you so
7 much. The citizens, the mayor and council,
8 everyone is really excited about the project. And
9 we'd just like to thank you publicly for all of
10 your work that you do for the local park fund and
11 everything else. So thank you.
12 CHAIRMAN BASS: Thank you.
13 Ms. Chipley?
14 MS. CHIPLEY: My name is Sandra
15 Chipley. I'm with the City of Bastrop Parks
16 Board. I'd like to thank the Commission and Texas
17 Parks and Wildlife for the consideration of our
18 grant. We're thrilled that we have rated so high
19 on your list. This is the first park west of the
20 Colorado River for Bastrop. And we're just really
21 excited to think we can develop on that side of
22 the river now. Thank you.
23 CHAIRMAN BASS: Thank you, ma'am.
24 That concludes the public comment. Are there any
25 questions or follow-up from Mr. Hogsett on this
.
30
1 from the Commission? The Chair would entertain a
2 motion.
3 COMMISSIONER WATSON: So moved.
4 COMMISSIONER HEATH: Second.
5 CHAIRMAN BASS: Motion and a second
6 by Commissioner Heath. All in favor? Opposed?
7 Motion carries.
8 (Motion passed unanimously.)
9 "Funding for projects listed in Exhibit A in
10 the amount of $5,511,794.00 is approved, as
11 described for individual projects in Exhibit B."
12
13 AGENDA ITEM NO. 3: ACTION - INDOOR RECREATION
14 GRANTS.
15 CHAIRMAN BASS: Next item, indoor
16 recreation grants. Mr. Hogsett, please.
17 MR. SANSOM: Mr. Chairman, I'd like
18 to take the opportunity to, before we move to
19 indoor, to remind you and the audience that
20 yesterday Mr. Hogsett briefed on you a coming up
21 pilot program for small communities which will
22 have the possibility of providing a bit more of a
23 user friendly process for those communities which
24 have unfortunately sometimes fallen through the
25 cracks in this program. And I think it's
.
31
1 particularly apropos from some of the comments
2 this morning. And we would look forward to
3 working with these communities to put that into
4 place.
5 CHAIRMAN BASS: Andy, I'd also like
6 to recognize for the record that State
7 Representative Judy Holly has written the
8 Department a letter supporting that initiative to
9 aid small communities. And we'd just make that
10 part of the record of today's meeting, please.
11 Continue, please.
12 MR. HOGSETT: Item Number 3 is --
13 once again for the record, I'm Tim Hogsett from
14 Recreation Grants Program and State Parks
15 Division.
16 Item Number 3 is indoor recreation
17 grants. We have received 14 applications by the
18 July 31st, 2000 deadline requesting a total of
19 $7,088,375 in matching funds for indoor recreation
20 facilities. All those applications have been
21 scored and rank ordered. And you can find the
22 rank ordered proposal in Exhibit A. All 14 sites
23 have been visited. We are recommending today
24 approval for the top six applications in the
25 amount of $3,325,000 in matching funds.
.
32
1 And the recommendation from the
2 staff is that funding for projects listed in
3 Exhibit A in the amount of $3,325,000 is approved,
4 as described for individual projects in Exhibit B.
5 And I'd be glad to answer any questions that you
6 have.
7 CHAIRMAN BASS: There is no public
8 comment on this item today. Any questions or
9 comment from the Commission?
10 COMMISSIONER ANGELO: Move approval.
11 COMMISSIONER IDSAL: Second.
12 CHAIRMAN BASS: Motion and a second.
13 All in favor? Any opposed? Motion carries.
14 Thank you, Mr. Hogsett.
15 (Motion passed unanimously.)
16 "Funding for projects listed in Exhibit A in
17 the amount of $3,325,000.00 is approved, as
18 described for individual projects in Exhibit B."
19
20 AGENDA ITEM NO. 4: BRIEFING - BIG TIME TEXAS
21 HUNTS/FISH TEXAS PROGRAM AND FEE RESOLUTION
22 (WHEREUPON, a briefing
23 item was presented to the
24 Commissioners, after which,
25 the following proceedings
.
33
1 were had:)
2 AGENDA ITEM NO. 5: ACTION - LEGISLATIVE RULE
3 REVIEW.
4 CHAIRMAN BASS: Our next item is
5 Legislative Rule Review. Mr. McCarty, would you
6 shepherd us through this one for us today?
7 MR. McCARTY: Mr. Chairman,
8 Commissioners. I'm Gene McCarty, Chief of Staff
9 with Texas Parks and Wildlife. I'm here to
10 introduce the continuation of our regulatory
11 review process. As you know, Senate Bill 176 of
12 the 76th Legislature directed all state agencies
13 to review existing regulations no later than every
14 four years after the rule becomes final.
15 The review is an assessment of
16 whether the reasons for initially adopting the
17 regulations continue to exist. Parks and Wildlife
18 has ten chapters in its Administrative Code. In
19 November you adopted a review of four of these
20 chapters, Chapter 51 for executive, Chapter 52 for
21 fish and wildlife, Chapter 55 for law enforcement
22 and Chapter 61 for design and construction.
23 Today we bring before you for your
24 consideration the review of three additional
25 chapters, Chapter 53 for finance, Chapter 59 for
.
34
1 parks, and Chapter 69 for resource protection.
2 And I'll let Suzy Whittenton through Chapter 53
3 for finance.
4 MS. WHITTENTON: Thank you. For the
5 record, my name is Suzy Whittenton. I'm the Chief
6 Financial Officer. Get the right screen on here.
7 The staff across all the divisions here at the
8 agency has reviewed Chapter 53 which is the
9 finance chapter and has recommended some minor
10 housekeeping type amendments. And I'll highlight
11 the more significant ones here.
12 Some of the -- a lot of them have to
13 do with updating the text to reflect the changes
14 in the new point of sale system. We've updated
15 the fees and eliminated references to surety bonds
16 and letters of credit which are not included in
17 the new system.
18 Another amendment would require the
19 senior Louisiana residents fishing in Texas waters
20 to possess a Louisiana fishing license. The
21 change basically reinstates the reciprocal fishing
22 agreement for seniors and was something that the
23 Commission approved previously. We were waiting
24 for Louisiana to have their reciprocal rules in
25 place.
.
35
1 Also, eligibility requirements were
2 updated -- were clarified by adding a list that
3 specifically states who is eligible for the lower
4 special resident fishing licenses at a fee of $6.
5 We've listed those people who are eligible for the
6 reduced fees. And the impact of that is that it
7 excludes the general commercial fishermen, the
8 fishing licenses because other commercial fishing
9 licenses are treated differently. So those
10 license holders would pay a different fee.
11 We've also recommended adding or
12 removing references to license permit and transfer
13 fees. This is basically for housekeeping
14 purposes, to more accurately reflect the statutory
15 authority. We've also recommended changes to the
16 Lifetime License Endowment Fund investment policy
17 to reflect the -- to be in accordance with the
18 investment policy approved by the Commission.
19 Other changes include dealing with
20 Subchapter B, stamps. The previous language
21 exempted nongame and endangered species stamps
22 from provisions regarding sale of obsolete stamps.
23 There are also changes dealing with the Texas
24 Freshwater Fisheries Center, the proposed
25 amendments dealing with the Fisheries Center
.
36
1 basically eliminate the specific fee schedule and
2 have replaced it with not to exceed the $6
3 entrance fee, as determined by the Executive
4 Director.
5 And finally, there were other
6 changes for general cleanup, such as removing
7 redundant language, relocating text and other
8 minor edits. And lastly, I just need to mention
9 a -- another revision to Subchapter B which was
10 minor. But it was not published in the Texas
11 Register. But since it is not a substantive
12 change, it can still be adopted today.
13 This change is needed to clarify
14 that the individual stamps and the collectors'
15 edition stamp package can be sold at different
16 prices. They can either be sold at face value or
17 at an established price for the entire package.
18 And that's all of the recommended changes I had.
19 Unless you have any other questions, I can turn it
20 over to Walt Dabney.
21 MR. DABNEY: Good morning,
22 Commissioners. My name is Walt Dabney, State Park
23 Director. We've got a few administrative changes
24 in 59 to go over this morning.
25 The first is the -- in historic
.
37
1 structures, generally speaking, you would not make
2 modifications to such a structure for convenience
3 purposes. However, we needed to clarify this
4 regulation, where we have a problem with health or
5 safety or access by handicapped populations to
6 that. This gives us the opportunity to be able to
7 make those modifications.
8 In 103 it removes a reference to
9 automatic renewal of contracts so that we can, in
10 fact, at the end of a contract period go out and
11 solicit bids for -- competitive bids for new
12 concessioner certainly the existing concessioner
13 would compete for that. It creates a process
14 also, specific process, for how we go about
15 selecting that concessioner -- going through a
16 competitive bid process.
17 104 discusses types of concession
18 contracts. It requires that we, in fact, put a
19 long-term contract together for major concessions.
20 It provides us an opportunity in smaller
21 concessions or shorter-term concessions to
22 actually go out for a prospectus as well.
23 In 105 the contract terms
24 currently -- this gives us the ability in 105 to
25 extend the concession period. If the concessioner
.
38
1 adds new facility, puts money into the facilities,
2 this would give us the chance to negotiate a
3 longer contract so that they could recoup their
4 investment. In the case of short-term
5 contracts -- and a good example of this would be a
6 vending machine operation -- instead of one year,
7 that we could extend it to two. We have trouble
8 getting somebody interested to come in for just
9 one year. If we, at the end of that time, could
10 go out for an opportunity for someone to come in
11 and replace them, it's hardly worth their time.
12 This gives us a chance to extend that to two
13 years.
14 In the case of franchise fees,
15 currently we have no ability to assess a penalty
16 if you don't pay your franchise fees, if you're a
17 concessioner, back to the state. Currently, we
18 send the bill to collection, but there's no
19 penalty for not doing that. This would give us
20 the opportunity to assess a penalty for delinquent
21 fees. It also gives us the regulatory ability, if
22 there were, for example, a flood or something that
23 interrupted the concession operation -- fire would
24 be another example possibly, we could waive those
25 delinquent fees or postpone those until you got
.
39
1 back on your feet. Our interest is not in
2 penalizing the concessioner.
3 I think I hit that one. The next
4 one in Section 63 and 64, is the section that
5 actually deals with the activities that are
6 allowed on state park units. And we received 16
7 comments that came in from the hang gliding and
8 paragliding community that requested that in two
9 locations, Enchanted Rock State Park and Elephant
10 Mountain Wildlife Management Area -- actually
11 Enchanted Rock State natural area and Elephant
12 Mountain Wildlife Management Area that we allow --
13 that we add hang gliding as an activity that would
14 be permitted.
15 In discussions with the staff,
16 several concerns. Hang gliding did, in fact,
17 occur at Enchanted Rock prior to it becoming a
18 state park. Now Enchanted Rock, certainly by --
19 in relation to its size, is one of our most
20 visited areas. We are currently turning people
21 away on many weekends because we simply do not
22 have room for them. It's a natural area. We
23 would not be going back in there to do clearings
24 and that kind of thing.
25 The letters that we got said that
.
40
1 approximately one acre area is needed for a launch
2 area, a five-acre area would be needed to land,
3 assuming that the person flying is an accomplished
4 pilot. We have so many people wandering around
5 now at Enchanted Rock, we don't have any open
6 spaces that we think are conducive to landing hang
7 gliders. And certainly the launch site is the
8 primary destination for people coming to visit
9 that site.
10 They're climbing up the side of
11 that, mixing hang gliders with it. That existing
12 activity would not be compatible in our minds and
13 would be a safety concern.
14 At Elephant Mountain the issue is
15 very different. Visitation is not the problem
16 there. Elephant Mountain, I think, beginning in
17 '87, with the reintroduction of the desert big
18 horn sheep, is now an area that has become our
19 primary stock location for transplant herds of the
20 desert big horn into other locales in Texas.
21 Desert big horn sheep are very secretive animals.
22 They like isolation.
23 Their habitat, especially escape
24 terrain, is at the base of these cliffs.
25 Launching hang gliders from this could, in fact,
.
41
1 put a stress on that population. You're going to
2 receive a briefing in a little while on big horn
3 sheep, coincidentally. We feel -- the wildlife
4 management staff feels it would not be a
5 compatible use.
6 In addition, you are in a very
7 isolated area and medical assistance and emergency
8 assistance on a very small staff would be tough to
9 provide, and there's really an access problem as
10 well. There is no usable road that goes to the
11 top of this area.
12 The staff in this instance, at this
13 time for these locations, recommends no change in
14 the existing status.
15 The last one has to do with
16 Section 4263101 (sic). Those are primarily word
17 changes, simply stated, changing such thing as
18 Indian rock art sites so to petroglyph and
19 pictograph sites which are accepted terminology.
20 If you have any questions, I'd be glad to answer
21 them; otherwise, I will turn the presentation over
22 to the next person.
23 CHAIRMAN BASS: Questions? Thank
24 you, Mr. Dabney.
25 MR. SWEENEY: Good morning,
.
42
1 Chairman, Commissioners. I'm Bob Sweeney. I'm
2 the next person. And today we're talking about
3 review and readoption.
4 MR. SANSOM: Thank you for
5 clarifying that.
6 MR. SWEENEY: My strength is the
7 obvious. Turning to Chapter 69, the review and
8 read option of Chapter 69, we've already been
9 through Chapters 53 and 59. And here we're
10 talking about the resource protection chapter and
11 all the subchapters under it.
12 And one I've done on this slide is
13 highlighted in green the subchapters that we're
14 proposing for readoption without any changes, and
15 in yellow I've highlighted the ones that we're
16 proposing for readoption, with some amendments.
17 The only section that is outside this group of
18 subchapters is 69.8 of Subchapter A, and that is
19 covered in a separate item in this commission
20 meeting.
21 So 69.8 is out of this group, but
22 everything else that we're referencing here today,
23 all these subchapters we're proposing either for
24 readoption with no changes where they're green or
25 readoption with changes where they're yellow,
.
43
1 pursuant to the legislative mandate that Gene
2 McCarty has described.
3 So with that I'll move on to the
4 motion, that we recommend that the Parks and
5 Wildlife Commission adopt. And I'm available for
6 any questions.
7 CHAIRMAN BASS: If there are not any
8 questions, the Chair at this time will take public
9 comment. We have two people that wish to speak,
10 Henry Wise, if you'd come forward at this time.
11 And Fred and Jan Burns, you'll be up after
12 Mr. Wise.
13 MR. WISE: Thank you,
14 Mr. Commissioner, Commissioners. My name is Henry
15 Wise. I represent the 311 Texas members of the
16 United States Hang Gliding Association, the Texas
17 Free Flight Association and the Hang Gliding
18 Association, the Houston Hang Gliding Association.
19 The USHGA is the recognized national
20 governing body for hang gliding and paragliding
21 ing in the United States, coordinating with both
22 the Federal Aeronautic Administration and all
23 other international flight associations.
24 We're requesting that hang gliding
25 and paragliding be added to the list of approved
.
44
1 activities on public lands in general, not just
2 two sites. Hang gliding has been a sport in Texas
3 since the 1970s and paragliding since the 1990s
4 and both have enjoyed an excellent safety record.
5 We believe it's important that the
6 participants in hang gliding and paragliding be
7 allowed to use selected public lands for these
8 activities. We used to fly at Elephant Mountain
9 Wildlife Management Area in West Texas and
10 Enchanted Rock in the Hill Country, but the
11 activities were stopped when the landowners sold
12 or gave the properties to the State of Texas.
13 We have been told on numerous
14 occasions since then that hang gliding and
15 paragliding is not on the approved activities
16 list, and this has prevented us from trying to
17 seek out new sites on public lands.
18 We currently have only one mountain
19 flying site left in Texas. It's a historic site
20 with a monument on the top, and it's privately
21 owned. This landowner is elderly, and if she were
22 to donate, sell or will the property to the State
23 of Texas under the current set of regulations, we
24 would lose this site as well.
25 We have been flying this site since
.
45
1 the late 1970s and have an excellent safety
2 record. There has never been a hang gliding or
3 paragliding fatality there.
4 We've tried to obtain permission
5 from other landowners in Texas to utilize their
6 properties, but they either don't want us on their
7 property, or they set the lease fee too high.
8 While we understand that being on the approved
9 activities list does not automatically allow us to
10 participate in these activities on state lands, it
11 would give us the opportunity to discuss the
12 possibility of flying selected sites with the
13 individual park administrators.
14 The United States National Park
15 Service, U.S. Forest Service and a number of park
16 departments in other states have, in conjunction
17 with the United States Hang Gliding Association
18 successfully set up maintained access and use
19 programs at various parks. These sites include
20 Yosemite National Park in California, the Lincoln
21 National Forest in New Mexico, the Washington
22 National Forest in Oklahoma and Mount Nebo and
23 Mount Magazine State Parks in Arkansas. Instead
24 of driving out of state, we prefer to stay in the
25 State of Texas to fly.
.
46
1 The USHGA provides a number of
2 services, two of which would be utilized in any
3 program set up on state land. The first is a
4 pilot proficiency program. This system is used
5 throughout the United States to determine the
6 skill level of a pilot. Each flying site is rated
7 according to the difficulty of the site and other
8 contributing factors.
9 In order to fly a site, the pilot
10 must possess a skill rating at least as high as
11 that required by the flying site.
12 MR. SANSOM: Thank you, sir. Thank
13 you very much.
14 CHAIRMAN BASS: Actually, Mr. Wise,
15 since you're currently answering what was one of
16 my questions, would you please continue?
17 MR. WISE: Yes. Pilots obtain their
18 ratings by a combination of written and flying
19 tests plus a required minimum number of hours
20 flown. The higher the rating, the more flying
21 time you are required to have. Members of the
22 United States Hang Gliding Association are given
23 rating cards and are always pleased to show them
24 when asked.
25 Secondly, the United States Hang
.
47
1 Gliding Association provides both individual and
2 site-specific liability insurance. This policy is
3 a combined single limit bodily injury and property
4 damaged liability insurance of $1 million.
5 In addition, all USHGA rated pilots
6 are required to sign a waiver of liability
7 releasing landowners and other third parties of
8 liability in cases of pilot injury. I'd be happy
9 to provide you with a copy of this waiver, as
10 well.
11 In addition, to the USHGA services,
12 hang glider and paraglider pilots are also willing
13 to sign additional site-specific waivers that
14 release landowners from all liabilities. It would
15 be easy to include such a waiver as part of any
16 program we had to set up.
17 If hang gliding and paragliding are
18 included in the list of approved activities on
19 state lands, we could then enter into discussions
20 with administrators at the individual areas that
21 are of interest to us to set up a program that
22 would be tailored to each site.
23 We believe that there are a number
24 of sites in Texas where hang gliding and
25 paragliding could safely be performed. However,
.
48
1 without the -- without being on the state's
2 approved activities list, we can't even begin to
3 think of setting up these programs. I had a
4 comment that I was going to make. But I hope that
5 answers all your questions.
6 CHAIRMAN BASS: Any questions?
7 VICE-CHAIR DINKINS: Is what you're
8 saying, that you're not going to propose other
9 sites than Enchanted Rock or Elephant Mountain
10 unless hang gliding or paragliding is an activity
11 on the list of approved activities?
12 MR. WISE: What I'm saying is, my
13 understanding is that the definitions -- what has
14 stopped us before from going to any other site in
15 Texas on public lands was that we've always
16 stumbled on this road block that it's not on the
17 approved list. And if it's not on the approved
18 list, they won't talk to us. We understand that
19 if we go to these sites and try to get in, and
20 we're on the approved list, it doesn't
21 automatically mean we can fly there.
22 Obviously, we are also interested in
23 public safety as well. And we don't want to cause
24 any problems.
25 VICE-CHAIR DINKINS: Can you give us
.
49
1 an example of another site or two within the state
2 that you do have an interest in going to?
3 MR. WISE: Well, the primary one,
4 obviously, for us is Elephant Mountain. We used
5 to fly there, and it was a wonderful place to fly.
6 Another site that I had looked at very briefly was
7 Lost Maples State Park, which looks like it may be
8 interesting. That would take more time on our
9 part to look at the site in more detail to see if
10 it is compatible.
11 VICE-CHAIR DINKINS: Thank you.
12 MR. WISE: Also, when it comes to
13 dealing with the big horn sheep, the concerns that
14 you have at Elephant Mountain with the big horn
15 sheep being scared off by us, we had a similar
16 situation back in the 1980s with the Owens Valley
17 in California with big horn sheep in the -- I
18 believe it was the White Mountains out there. And
19 they found that there was no problems. We seemed
20 to be compatible with them out there, as well.
21 COMMISSIONER HEATH: Where do you go
22 now to practice your sport?
23 MR. WISE: Well, we have a lease on
24 a hill out near Lake LBJ. This is the one that I
25 was discussing earlier. There's also some tow
.
50
1 sites that are available as well. The towing is
2 another form of getting up in the air, but it's
3 not -- some people don't enjoy going off of a tow
4 as much as they do off of the mountains. The
5 scenery is, obviously, just flat lands. It's not
6 as scenic.
7 It's also -- hang gliding, when it
8 started off, was more of a mountain sport and
9 later on towing came into play. So it's getting
10 back more towards the traditional form of flying
11 as well.
12 COMMISSIONER HEATH: Are there any
13 regulations, state or federal, that govern what
14 you do?
15 MR. WISE: Well, we have to follow
16 all the regulations by the FAA. The FAA does not
17 regulate the sport directly. They have turned
18 those -- what they call a self-regulating sport.
19 The United States Hang Gliding Association does
20 all the regulations for the sport in this country.
21 COMMISSIONER HEATH: So if I wanted
22 to go out with a hang glider tomorrow and jump off
23 the side of a cliff or whatever you do, I could do
24 so?
25 MR. WISE: Within reason.
.
51
1 CHAIRMAN BASS: Punts.
2 MR. WISE: Most sites that we fly
3 everybody knows about. And if they don't know who
4 you are and what your capabilities are, they will
5 question you before they will let you go off. A
6 lot of times if you're new to the area we'll look
7 at your rating card, as well, to make sure that
8 you're compatible with the flying issues that we
9 have at that time.
10 COMMISSIONER HEATH: My comment
11 would just be to staff, if there's a way we can
12 accommodate -- and I know we've looked
13 specifically at these two locations. But get
14 creative to support this use would be -- I'd
15 certainly encourage it.
16 CHAIRMAN BASS: We have another
17 speaker before Mr. Dabney comes back.
18 COMMISSIONER IDSAL: I have another
19 question. Is an ultralight the same thing as a
20 hang glider?
21 MR. WISE: Originally, ultralights
22 were nothing more than hang gliders with a small
23 motor put on them. But today if you took the
24 motor off, they wouldn't fly properly at all.
25 They would be unstable and would probably crash.
.
52
1 So, no, they are not the same.
2 COMMISSIONER IDSAL: But an
3 ultralight can be launched from almost anywhere?
4 MR. WISE: Yes. It's got an engine
5 so it can be launched anywhere that you have a
6 large enough field to launch it from.
7 COMMISSIONER IDSAL: Do you know,
8 other than Lost Maples, are there any other places
9 in the state, that you know, either privately or
10 publicly, that are being used on any level at all
11 for hang gliding?
12 MR. WISE: Public lands?
13 COMMISSIONER IDSAL: Public or
14 private.
15 MR. WISE: There are several. As I
16 said before, there are several sites around the
17 state where they are towing behind either
18 ultralights or behind cars or trucks. There's
19 several very small sites 35 feet high to 50, 60
20 feet high that are being used as training hills.
21 COMMISSIONER IDSAL: What kind of
22 height do you need? I'm sure that's not the only
23 thing you need, but how --
24 MR. WISE: Well, no. The higher the
25 better, obviously. For a training hill, in
.
53
1 Houston we have a site that's 35-feet high that we
2 use. In Austin they have a training hill that's
3 about 50 to 60 feet high. In El Paso they have a
4 training hill -- or they used to when I learned
5 back in the '70s -- that was about 150-feet high.
6 Depending on the conditions, it can
7 be anything from -- if you're on the coast, it
8 could be 20 to 30 feet high, and you could stay
9 up; or if you're inland, you probably -- the site
10 out at -- out in Kingsland that we fly is 425 feet
11 high. And that's considered to be kind of small.
12 COMMISSIONER IDSAL: Okay.
13 COMMISSIONER ANGELO: I'd like to
14 second the comments of Commissioner Heath with
15 respect to doing work with this to see if there
16 are some places they could be compatible. I do
17 think that the two sites that have been discussed
18 today have significant liabilities that would make
19 it difficult for us to approve the activity in
20 state parks.
21 CHAIRMAN BASS: My last question, I
22 think at this time, Mr. Wise, would be, would your
23 group, you think, be willing to bear some special
24 use fees, such as rock climbers currently pay, to
25 use some of our facilities? In other words,
.
54
1 special use charge over and above the normal park
2 entry fee?
3 MR. WISE: They would if it's within
4 reason, yes. There are sites that I've discussed
5 here where they do charge a small fee, yeah, for
6 the privilege of hang gliding.
7 CHAIRMAN BASS: For instance, the
8 one that's near Lake LBJ, what would it cost a
9 person to go there and use it?
10 MR. WISE: Well, that's a
11 privately-held site. We have a lease on the
12 property. That one there, it's an annual fee
13 only.
14 CHAIRMAN BASS: I see. Okay. All
15 right. Thank you very much. At this time Fred
16 and Jan Burns, if there's something one of you
17 would like to add that we haven't touched on, we'd
18 be interested in hearing it.
19 MR. BURNS: Mr. Chairman, I'm
20 Fred Burns, and I'm vice-president of Austin Air
21 Sports, Incorporated, a hang gliding school. And
22 your question, Palo Duro Canyon looks mighty good.
23 I was out there this past summer.
24 COMMISSIONER IDSAL: Well, that was
25 in my mind.
.
55
1 MR. BURNS: It's a gorgeous spot.
2 They have nice launches and great places to land
3 and wide open spaces. And it would be fine if we
4 can do that. And that's all I have to add.
5 CHAIRMAN BASS: Mr. Dabney, would
6 you like to make some comments to the Commission?
7 MR. DABNEY: I hadn't met Mr. Wise
8 before, but we talked on the phone the other day.
9 And we talked about Enchanted Rock and Elephant
10 Mountain, and I told him just as you said,
11 Commissioner Heath, even without changing the
12 regulation, if there are other places out there
13 that you think makes sense, come forward to us.
14 The fact that it is not listed in the regulation
15 does not preclude Mr. Wise or anyone else talking
16 to the park manager.
17 If there's some reason that it makes
18 sense, it's compatible, it isn't interfering with
19 other visitors or the safety of the place, we'll
20 certainly talk to him about it. We could then
21 come forward if we were in agreement to this
22 Commission and ask for a change in that and
23 probably for a specific site, not opening the
24 whole system to this sort of thing.
25 CHAIRMAN BASS: It seems to me that
.
56
1 the logical sequence would be for you and your
2 staff to work with these groups. They seem to be
3 self-regulating in establishing some liability
4 issues as well as competence issues. And if we
5 could -- if we do find some sites that it's a
6 compatible use, then at that time I think changing
7 the verbiage of making it a compatible use would
8 be appropriate.
9 I'm kind of putting the cart before
10 the horse to say it's a permitted use if, in fact,
11 we don't have anyplace that it works, that it is
12 compatible. So I think what I'm hearing is --
13 from the Commission, unless there are other
14 comments, is an interest in working with these
15 groups to see if we can find someplace they can
16 practice their sport and be compatible with other
17 facility uses and users and go from there and --
18 COMMISSIONER HENRY: Mr. Chairman?
19 CHAIRMAN BASS: Yes, sir?
20 COMMISSIONER HENRY: I'd like to ask
21 Walt a question. Walt, are there other areas of
22 activity where we ask residents or participants or
23 citizens to sign hold harmless agreements or
24 liability agreements, or lack of, in any other
25 areas that you can think of? And has it -- I'm
.
57
1 really getting to, has it been tested?
2 MR. DABNEY: We do, but Randy, do
3 one of you know --
4 MR. RANDY: Rock climbing areas --
5 MR. DABNEY: At Enchanted Rock, does
6 every climber sign that? At some places we do.
7 They were talking about rock climbing at Mineral
8 Wells. I think, in talking to Rob Trippet, they
9 do that at Enchanted Rock.
10 COMMISSIONER HENRY: Do you know if
11 the agreement has ever been tested?
12 MR. DABNEY: If the liability waiver
13 has ever been tested? Bob Sweeney?
14 MR. SWEENEY: No.
15 MR. COOKE: I don't believe it has.
16 MR. DABNEY: I don't know of a case.
17 In this particular instance, in the conversation
18 with Mr. Wise, I, in fact, gave him Roy Heideman,
19 the park manager's name at Lost Maples and
20 suggested that he go over there and talk. I don't
21 personally -- I can't think of a five-acre cleared
22 place at Lost Maples that doesn't have a
23 campground in there or something like that, but I
24 suggested that he go down there and see if
25 something made sense there. So I think we are not
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58
1 against his sport or anybody else's if it makes
2 sense someplace.
3 VICE-CHAIR DINKINS: Mr. Dabney,
4 when you look into this, another area that I would
5 like to have some information about is the -- any
6 call there might be on the staff at a park if
7 there were some type of an accident.
8 And what I'm saying is if there's a
9 small staff and a fair amount of visitation at any
10 given time, if the staff might be called away for
11 some type of emergency first-aid. I couldn't
12 understand from Mr. Wise's discussion exactly what
13 the record is.
14 I'm glad there haven't been
15 fatalities at certain sites in Texas, but I also
16 would be interested in what type of drain on the
17 staff personnel could be in the offing if this
18 were allowed. Thanks.
19 CHAIRMAN BASS: Any other comments
20 on this item? The Chair would entertain a motion.
21 COMMISSIONER WATSON: So moved.
22 VICE-CHAIR DINKINS: Second.
23 CHAIRMAN BASS: Motion to approve
24 the item as presented, and a second. All in
25 favor? Any opposed? Motion carries. Thank you.
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59
1 (Motion passed unanimously.)
2 "The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission adopts,
3 with changes to the proposed text as published in
4 the December 22, 2000 issue of the Texas Register
5 (25 TexReg 12599-12626):
6 1. Within 31 TAC Chapter 53 (Finance): Amendments
7 to Sections 53.1-53.10 within Subchapter A
8 (License Fees and Boat and Motor Fees);
9 amendments to Section 53.14 and 53.16 within
10 Subchapter B (Stamps); amendments to Section
11 53.17 and Section 53.18 within Subchapter C
12 (Authorized Vessel Registration Agent); the
13 repeal of Section 53.23 and an amendment to
14 Section 53.22 within Subchapter D (Surety Bond
15 Requirements); the repeal of Sections
16 53.31-53.33 and an amendment to Section 53.35
17 within Subchapter E (Selling Price of
18 Department Information); an amendment to
19 Section 53.50 within Subchapter F (Texas
20 Freshwater Fisheries Center Admission; Fees and
21 Other Entrance Requirements); the repeal of
22 Section 53.80 and an amendment to Sections
23 53.70, 51.162 within Subchapter I
24 (Miscellaneous Wildlife Licenses and Permits);
25 and the readoption of all other sections within
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60
1 the chapter.
2
3 2. Within 31 TAC Chapter 59 (Parks): Amendments to
4 Section 59.42 and Section 59.44 within
5 Subchapter C (Acquisition and Development of
6 Historic Sites, Buildings and Structures);
7 amendments to Section 59.63 and Section 59.64
8 within Subchapter D (Administration of the
9 State Park System); amendments to Sections
10 59.101 and 59.103-59.108 within Subchpater E
11 (Operation and Leasing of Park Concessions); an
12 amendment to Section 59.131 within Subchapter F
13 (State Park Operational Rules); and the
14 readoption of all other sections within the
15 chapter.
16
17 3. Within Chapter 69 (Resource Protection):
18 Amendments to Section 69.47 and Section 69.51
19 within Subchapter C (Wildlife Rehabilitation
20 Permits); amendments to Section 69.91 and
21 Section 69.93 within Subchapter G (Compliance
22 With Coastal Management Plan); amendments to
23 Section 69.120 and Section 69.121 within
24 Subchapter H (Issuance of Marl, Sand and Gravel
25 Permits); amendments to Section 69.201 and
.
61
1 Section 69.203 within Subchapter I (Shell
2 Dredging on the Texas Gulf Coast); amendments
3 to Section 69.303 and Section 69.305 within
4 Subchapter J (Scientific, Educational, and
5 Zoological Permits); and the readoption of all
6 other sections within the chapter."
7
8 AGENDA ITEM NO. 6: BRIEFING - BIG HORN SHEEP
9 TRANSPLANT PROJECT.
10 CHAIRMAN BASS: Dr. Jerry Cooke, big
11 horn sheep transplant briefing, please.
12 (WHEREUPON, a briefing
13 item was presented to the
14 Commissioners, after which,
15 the following proceedings
16 were had:)
17 AGENDA ITEM NO. 9: ACTION - ENDANGERED,
18 THREATENED, AND PROTECTED NATIVE PLANT
19 REGULATIONS.
20 COMMISSIONER HEATH: Next item is
21 Item 9, endangered, threatened and protected
22 native plant regulations, John Herron.
23 MR. HERRON: Thank you,
24 Mr. Chairman. My name is John Herron. I'm the
25 Branch Chief for Wildlife Diversity. And today
.
62
1 I'll be briefing you on some changes we are
2 proposing to our threatened and endangered plant
3 regulations. This is an action item, and we're
4 requesting that the Commission adopt regulations
5 today.
6 As I told the Commission
7 yesterday -- actually, this was a repeat item. We
8 did bring these changes to the commission last
9 August. However, after the Commission had
10 reviewed this, we realized that it had not been
11 properly published in the Texas Register as
12 required to change our regulations under the
13 Administrative Procedures Act. And so we have
14 since republished the announcement of changing
15 these regulations, reopened this for public
16 comment.
17 We did hold public hearings last
18 summer as required. Those were properly
19 announced, and at that time we received no
20 comment. Since reopening this in December, we
21 have not received any additional public comment on
22 these proposed changes, either.
23 The changes we are proposing
24 basically mirror changes that were already
25 implemented by the Fish and Wildlife Service. In
.
63
1 brief, we are proposing to remove the McKittick
2 pennyroyal from our list of threatened plant
3 species and add the Pecos Sunflower to that same
4 list. We are also proposing to remove the Lloyd's
5 hedgehog cactus from our endangered plant list and
6 to list the Zapata bladderpod.
7 And with that, I would request that
8 the commission adopt this amendment to 69.8
9 concerning the endangered threatened and protected
10 native plants, with changes proposed Texas
11 published in the December 1st edition of the Texas
12 Register. And with that, I'd be happy to answer
13 any questions.
14 CHAIRMAN BASS: Questions? There is
15 public comment. Mr. Gilleland, would you like to
16 come forward and present your views to the
17 Commission?
18 MR. GILLELAND: My name is Ellis
19 Gilleland. I am representing Texas Animals, an
20 organization for animal rights on the Internet.
21 The first page of the handout I just
22 gave you is a reissue of the one I gave you on the
23 31st of August last year. It is regulation taken
24 from the Parks and Wildlife Code and says that
25 publication -- it deals with publication of
.
64
1 regulations, specifically as applied to the
2 endangered species.
3 The next page is Rule 65.172, which
4 is threatened species, which is what you had
5 before you repealed it. The next item is 65.180,
6 endangered species, which you had before you
7 repealed it. I'm showing that you had a clear
8 distinction between the two lists according to the
9 Parks and Wildlife Code, endangered species your
10 final law until repealed.
11 The next item is from your
12 Commission Agenda Item Number 7, 31st of August,
13 65.175, threatened species. You substituted in
14 the threatened species list for the endangered and
15 the threatened. Among the two which was really
16 not kosher, but you did it. I protested, and you
17 did it, anyway. And finally you published in the
18 Texas Register on the 10th of November 2000, the
19 deal with repeal of the endangered species list.
20 You say one commentor GILLELAND opposed adoption
21 of repeal of 69.190. That's a lie. I never
22 opposed 190. 190 I gave you. 190 deals with
23 public lands. I said nothing about public lands.
24 I opposed 65.180. So your
25 publication in the Texas Register is fraudulent.
.
65
1 The second matter of fraud in your publication, it
2 says the Parks and Wildlife Code does not require
3 the Department to maintain a list of endangered
4 species by rule and by filing at the Secretary of
5 State. That's a lie. The Department's list of
6 endangered species is on file with the Secretary
7 of State. That's a lie.
8 And the list of species receive full
9 protection of the Parks and Wildlife Code. That's
10 a lie. You cannot protect endangered species.
11 Jim Robertson cannot protect endangered species,
12 or arrest somebody killing a warbler because you
13 have repealed the endangered species list. No
14 changes were made as a result of the comment.
15 Well, how wonderful, you have the power to change
16 it.
17 So I would ask you to go back and
18 not only make a regulation for your plants, but
19 please put the animals in there that are
20 endangered. It's the animals I'm concerned with.
21 I think the plants are a concern, too. But
22 they're not a living, breathing, warm-blooded,
23 sentiment being. So I would ask you to add the
24 animals.
25 MR. SANSOM: Thank you,
.
66
1 Mr. Gilleland. Your time is up.
2 MR. GILLELAND: Animals --
3 MR. SANSOM: Thank you very much.
4 CHAIRMAN BASS: Mr. Herron, would
5 you like to respond, please?
6 MR. HERRON: Well, Mr. Gilleland's
7 comments were addressing actions taken last August
8 concerning endangered, threatened and endangered
9 animals, not what we have before the Commission
10 today, which is limited to plants. But in
11 response, I would point out that, as he mentioned,
12 our list of endangered animals is done by
13 submitting a list to the Secretary of State's
14 Office.
15 We did take that to the Commission
16 in August, and we have subsequently filed that
17 list with the Secretary of State's Office. And I
18 doubled checked that with our staff, Robert
19 Macdonald. And, you know, it's been filed at the
20 Statutory Documents Division at the Secretary of
21 State's Office. So we do have a list of
22 endangered animals. Law enforcement is aware of
23 that.
24 In fact, once it was filed, we had
25 that added to the regulation books that our game
.
67
1 wardens have, so I think we have addressed
2 Mr. Gilleland's concern concerning endangered
3 animals. There is still a list of endangered
4 animals.
5 COMMISSIONER ANGELO: Is this a
6 typographical error in reference to 190 as opposed
7 to 180?
8 MR. HERRON: I wasn't involved in
9 the preparation of that. It may well be.
10 COMMISSIONER ANGELO: It looks like
11 it probably is.
12 MR. HERRON: In regards to the
13 record of the last meeting?
14 COMMISSIONER ANGELO: Yeah, on
15 Page 289 of the Texas Register.
16 CHAIRMAN BASS: Other questions,
17 comments?
18 COMMISSIONER ANGELO: Move approval
19 of the recommendation.
20 COMMISSIONER WATSON: Second.
21 CHAIRMAN BASS: Chair has a motion
22 and a second. All in favor? Any opposed? The
23 motion is passed. Thank you.
24 (Motion passed unanimously.)
25 "The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission adopts
.
68
1 an amendment to Section 69.8, concerning
2 Endangered, Threatened, and protected Native
3 Plants, with changes to the proposed text as
4 published in the December 1, 2000 issue of the
5 Texas Register (25 TexReg 11900)."
6
7 AGENDA ITEM NO. 11: BRIEFING - SHRIMP RESOURCE
8 STUDY.
9 CHAIRMAN BASS: Hal Osburn, if you
10 would please come forward now and do briefing Item
11 Number 11, shrimp resource study, that is an
12 outgrowth of our actions earlier last year.
13 (WHEREUPON, a briefing
14 item was presented to the
15 Commissioners, after which,
16 the following proceedings
17 were had:)
18 AGENDA ITEM NO. 15 ACTION: LAND ACQUISITION -
19 BREWSTER COUNTY (BIG BEND RANCH SP).
20 CHAIRMAN BASS: Item 14 has been
21 pulled from the agenda, which brings us to 15,
22 land acquisition of Brewster County.
23 MS. LESLIE: I'm Karen Leslie with
24 the Land Conservation Group. Big Bend Ranch,
25 Chairman and Commissioners, this item reflects a
.
69
1 summary of the Conservation Committee Executive
2 Session item that was presented to you yesterday.
3 The property is a bargain sale in holding and
4 helps to protect the natural and cultural
5 resources of the park. The property is located on
6 the east side of the park north of Lajitas.
7 Staff recommends the Commission
8 consider the motion to acquire the 640 acres as an
9 addition to Big Bend Ranch State park.
10 CHAIRMAN BASS: Questions or
11 comments? There's no public comment on this.
12 COMMISSIONER HENRY: Move.
13 COMMISSIONER HEATH: Second.
14 CHAIRMAN BASS: Motion by
15 Commissioner Henry, second by Commissioner Heath.
16 All in favor? Any opposed? Thank you,
17 Ms. Leslie. The motion carries.
18 (Motion passed unanimously.)
19 "The Executive Director is authorized to take
20 all steps necessary to purchase Section 11,
21 Block G5, G.C. & S.R. Ry. Co. Survey, Brewster
22 County, to be part of Big Bend Ranch State
23 Park."
24 AGENDA ITEM NO. 16: ACTION - LAND ACQUISITION -
25 NACOGDOGHES COUNTY - ALAZAN BAYOU.
.
70
1 CHAIRMAN BASS: Mr. Jack Bauer,
2 Nacogdoches County, please.
3 MR. BAUER: Chairman and
4 Commissioners, I am Jack Bauer, Director of the
5 Land Conservation Program. This item reflects a
6 summary of the conservation Committee Executive
7 Session item presented yesterday. The item
8 relates to land transactions at Alazan Bayou
9 Wildlife Management Area. Staff is recommending
10 the acquisition of a 101-acre tract at Alazan to
11 offset habitat loss that's anticipated with road
12 construction at the facility.
13 The tract contains very high quality
14 habitat. I ask for your consideration for the
15 motion before you to acquire this property as a
16 habitat addition to Alazan. I would be happy to
17 answer any questions.
18 CHAIRMAN BASS: Questions?
19 COMMISSIONER ANGELO: Move approval
20 of the recommendation.
21 COMMISSIONER HENRY: Second.
22 CHAIRMAN BASS: Motion and a second.
23 All in favor? Any opposed? Motion carries.
24 Thank you.
25 (Motion passed unanimously.)
.
71
1 "The Executive Director is authorized to take
2 all steps necessary to acquire approximately
3 101.6 acres as a habitat addition to Alazan
4 Bayou WMA."
5 AGENDA ITEM NO. 17: ACTION - LAND ACQUISITION -
6 ANDERSON COUNTY - BIG LAKE BOTTOM WMA.
7 CHAIRMAN BASS: Anderson County,
8 Mr. Bauer, please.
9 MR. BAUER: Chairman and
10 Commissioners, this item also reflects a summary
11 of the committee session yesterday. It relates to
12 Big Lake Bottom, which is a rare remnant of Upper
13 Trinity River Bottom Habitat. The facility has
14 been under development since 1992. Staff is
15 recommending the acquisition of a 100-acre tract
16 that will provide county road access and tie
17 together previously noncontiguous ownership at the
18 facility.
19 Staff recommends the Commission
20 consider the motion before you to acquire
21 approximately 100 acres as a habitat addition at
22 Big Lake Bottom. And I would be happy to answer
23 questions.
24 CHAIRMAN BASS: No public comment.
25 Any questions from the Commission? Entertain a
.
72
1 motion?
2 COMMISSIONER HEATH: So moved.
3 COMMISSIONER RYAN: Second.
4 CHAIRMAN BASS: Motion from
5 Mr. Heath, second by Commissioner Ryan. All in
6 favor? Any opposed?
7 (Motion passed unanimously.)
8 "The Executive Director is authorized to take
9 all steps necessary to acquire approximately
10 100 acres in Anderson County as an addition to
11 the Big Lake Bottom Wildlife Management Areas."
12 AGENDA ITEM NO. 18: ACTION - BREWSTER COUNTY -
13 BLACK GAP WMA.
14 CHAIRMAN BASS: And lastly,
15 Mr. Bauer, Brewster County.
16 MR. BAUER: This item represents
17 land acquisition recommendations at the Black Gap
18 in Brewster County. As you are aware, the
19 Department has been purchasing privately held in
20 holdings and Desert Mountain Habitat within the
21 boundary of Black Gap to improve facility
22 management and in support of the Desert Big Horn
23 Sheep Restoration Program.
24 Staff recommends the Commission
25 consider the motion before you to acquire a
.
73
1 40-acre inholding as a habitat addition at Black
2 Gap. And I would be happy to answer questions.
3 COMMISSIONER HENRY: So moved.
4 COMMISSIONER RYAN: Seconded.
5 CHAIRMAN BASS: So moved and
6 seconded by Commissioner Ryan. All in favor? Any
7 opposed? Motion carries. Thank you.
8 (Motion passed unanimously.)
9 "The Executive Director is authorized to take
10 all necessary steps to consummate the
11 acquisition of approximately 40 acres in
12 Brewster County as an addition to Black Gap
13 Wildlife Management Area."
14 CHAIRMAN BASS: Mr. Sansom, do you
15 know of any other business to come before this
16 Commission today?
17 MR. SANSOM: No, Mr. Chairman.
18 CHAIRMAN BASS: Being no other
19 business, there's no further public comment. And
20 we stand adjourned. Thank you very much.
21 *-*-*-*-*
22 (MEETING ADJOURNED.)
23 *-*-*-*-*
24
25
.
74
1 REPORTER'S CERTIFICATE
2 STATE OF TEXAS )
3 COUNTY OF TRAVIS )
4 I, MELODY RENEE DeYOUNG, a Certified
5 Court Reporter in and for the State of Texas, do
6 hereby certify that the above and foregoing 73
7 pages constitute a full, true and correct
8 transcript of the minutes of the Texas Parks and
9 Wildlife Commission on JANUARY 25, 2001, in the
10 Commission hearing room of the Texas Parks and
11 Wildlife Headquarters Complex, Austin, Travis
12 County, Texas.
13 I FURTHER CERTIFY that a stenographic
14 record was made by me at the time of the public
15 meeting and said stenographic notes were
16 thereafter reduced to computerized transcription
17 under my supervision and control.
18 WITNESS MY HAND this the 24th day of
19 February, 2001.
20
21 MELODY RENEE DeYOUNG, RPR, CSR NO. 3226
Expiration Date: 12-31-02
22 3101 Bee Caves Road
Centre II, Suite 220
23 Austin, Texas 78746
(512) 328-5557
24
25 EBS NO.
.
75
1
2 Lee M. Bass, Chairman
3
4
Carol E. Dinkins, Vice Chair
5
6
7 Dick W. Heath
8
9
Nolan Ryan
10
11
12 Ernest Angelo, Jr.
13
14
John Avila, Jr.
15
16
17 Alvin L. Henry
18
19
Katharine Armstrong Idsal
20
21
22 Mark E. Watson, Jr.
23
24
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25