Contact: Ken Kramer (512-626-4204, cell; 512-476-6962, office)

The Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club consists of over 25,000 members. The Chapter spans the entire state of Texas, excepting El Paso, which is part of the Rio Grande Chapter.

Located in Austin, the Lone Star Chapter's State Conservation Office serves Sierrans as their grassroots communications center. We also provide Sierrans with a full time professional activist staff employed to represent Sierrans as we fight at the state level to protect and conserve Texas' diverse and valuable natural heritage.

Land & Water Plan Update

– presented by Scott Boruff, Deputy Executive Director for Operations, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission’s Conservation Committee Meeting, November 2, 2005

The Land & Water Plan is used as operating guidelines for the agency. The agency is in the process of developing division operational plans based on the Land & Water Plan. Then individual staff performance plans will be linked to these division operational plans. TPWD staff will provide an annual update of the Land & Water Plan to the Parks and Wildlife Commission every November.

The following are the eight goals in the Land & Water Plan (the eighth was added as part of the revision of the Plan earlier this year) and some of the accomplishments related to those goals thus far [several more accomplishments were noted at the Conservation Committee meeting]:

Goal #1 – Improve access to the outdoors
Opened 8300-acre Government Canyon State Natural Area

Completed the World Birding Center Weslaco and Bentsen sites
Finished Phase 1 of the Sheldon Lake Environmental Education Center
Acquired a 260-acre addition to Bastrop State Park

Goal #2 – Conserve, manage, operate, and promote agency-owned sites to maximize recreational opportunities, biodiversity, and cultural appreciation
Successfully completed the first bond package for repairs of TPWD facilities
Preparing for second bond issuance ($18,075,000)

Goal #3 – Assist landowners in managing their land for sustainable resources consistent with their goals
Increased the acreage under wildlife management plans from 15.5 million acres to over 17.1 million acres
Increased the number of approved plans from 4300 to over 4900**
Increased focus on water management aspects of wildlife management plans

Goal #4 – Increase participation in hunting, fishing, & outdoor recreation
Initiated the Zedler Mill paddling trail development on the San Marcos River
Continued Trail System development at Cedar Hill State Park near Dallas/Fort Worth
(trying to put together a trail system that will connect NGO, city, county, state lands)

Goal #5 – Enhance the quality of hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation
Planning new fish hatchery in East Texas

Goal #6 – Improve science, data collection, and information dissemination
Obtained favorable review by the National Academy of Sciences for the TPWD staff work plan on joint instream flow methodology

Goal #7 – Maintain or improve water quality and quantity to support the needs of fish, wildlife, and recreation
Supported the Texas Water Trust by transferring three water rights to the Trust
Scheduled the third hour-long TX special, The State of the Springs, focusing on water issues for broadcast in February 2007
Continued the TPWD Golden Algae Task Force to address questions related to this toxic algae

Goal #8 – Continue to improve TPWD business management systems, business practices, and work culture
Developing division operational plans
Completed land transaction process review

** Several commissioners (including Ned Holmes and John Parker) raised questions about the number of TPWD staff members and corresponding costs of these staff members working with private property owners to develop wildlife management plans for those private lands. The possibility was raised of levying some type of fee or charge for assistance in preparing the plans, although a concern was expressed that doing so might dampen interest among private landowners in preparing such plans. Chairman Fitzsimons pointed out, however, that additional funds were needed to assure that, for example, the agency had enough biologists to assist private landowners in developing the wildlife habitat plans. He thought that the idea of establishing some funding mechanism such as a charge for assisting in plan development merited further examination.

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Explore, Enjoy, Protect