Archive for January 18th, 2010

Recreational Landowners: Buying Rural Land

Monday, January 18th, 2010

This is Passport to Texas

As our population becomes more urban, we see people buying rural property as weekend retreats.

Recreational buying is the greatest motivation for exchanges in land in Texas.

Linda Campbell, who directs the private lands program at parks and wildlife, says the reasons for buying rural property are as different as the people buying it.

Game species are still a big driver – very important economically for landowners in Texas, and for the communities that are supported by this. But, we have a greater diversity of landowners, and so with a diversity of people, you have a diversity of interests. So, there are a lot of landowners, particularly those with smaller tracts that are primarily interested in managing for birds and other non-game wildlife. Or, they just want to get away from the city to have a retreat. And that’s an absolutely valid goal as well. And, so, we work with all landowners in whatever their goal is.

Parks and Wildlife’s private lands program offers landowners free technical assistance managing their property.

Texas is over ninety percent privately owned, and so we recognized that if we’re going to have any impact at all on conservation of wildlife and habitats, we have to do it through the cooperation of private landowners.

Understanding your land…that’s tomorrow.

That’s out show…we receive support from the Wildlife Restoration program.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.