TPWD Does Disburse Land - Conservation Easement Needed

Following up from yesterday's post, here again is the vintage Risher Gilbert quote: "Some people don't trust the PSB, don't trust the City Council, and now don't trust the state park. At some point, we have to have some trust here."

Again: there is some trust - in the law, in contracts, in courts, in unbiased third parties.

Just browse through this document:

TPWD State Park Land Dispositions

It shows land sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of or disbursed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. There is no guarantee that land given to  the TPWD will stay with the TPWD. Several years ago they sought to trade a few acres of Franklin Mountains State Park land for the building on Clark where  TPWD offices. That building is owned by TxDOT. The deal was not made not because of TPWD but because TxDOT didn't want to do it.  Nothing against the TPWD - but conditions, circumstances, key players, institutional memory, etc., etc. change. A conservation easement is the only guarantee that land will remain natural in perpetuity.


Unlike some suggestions by our less than trustworthy Ms. Gilbert, there are TPWD lands that have conservation easements:

Here are five examples: 

1.      Black Gap Wildlife Management Area, Brewster County

2.      Caddo Lake Wildlife Management Area, Harrison & Marion Counties

3.      Devils River State Natural Area, Val Verde County

4.      Devils River Ranch State Natural Area, Val Verde County

5.      Government Canyon State Natural Area, Bexar County

Information was provided by Corky Kuhlmann, Project Manager, Land Conservation, Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept., 512-389-4590.


It's a good plan to transfer the land in the NW Master Plan to the State Park. However, a conservation easement must be part of the mix. That's a deal that can be trusted in perpetuity.