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ANNUAL SPENDING PER TEXAN
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Although no two Texans receive the same type or level of government services, state
government will spend slightly more than $2,339 on average for every man, woman and child in Texas in each of the fiscal years. 2000 & 2001
Source: Texas Comptroller for Public Accounts,
Fiscal Notes (September 1997), 3.
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Texas ranks 49th in per capita spending on parkland.--sixty-three percent below the national average.* Texas state government spent $2.71 per
person in 1998 and 1999 on parks and recreation, while the average state spent $14.12.*
In Texas in 2001,
- 5.7 percent of land in Texas is public
- 2.6 percent of public lands are owned by the Federal government,
- 3.0 percent of public lands are owned by the state
- 0.14 percent of public lands are owned by local governments.
- Texas Parks and Wildlife Department manages 0.6 percent of the public lands.
- 2.5 % of public lands in Texas were categorized as parks, forests and refuges.*
The decisions about state parks,historical sites,wildlife
habitat and conservation land acquisitions are made by the governing board of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). Acquisitions are recommended by
the department's director and staff and then approved by the board. Purchases are funded with legislative
appropriations or in some cases through voter approval of bonds. A small percentage of land has been donated to the TPWD.
During the past few years, TPWD and the State Legislators' priority has been to improve and add to existing parkland
rather than establishing new parks.*
Texas Parks and Wildlife's Budget: Fiscal year 2000:
Texas Parks and Wildlife's budget in fiscal year 2000 was $256.3 million. Of that amount $177 million went for ongoing
operations, $50.3 million for capital projects and $29 million for grants. The sporting goods sales tax is the Department's primary source of general revenue.
The parks division of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department receives $49.7 million or 28.1 percent of the total budget,
inland fisheries, coastal fisheries and wildlife jointly make up $24.1 million of the budget or 42.5 percent, and Enfocement has 22.5 percent of the budget.
Sources of Revenue for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department:
- Regulatory and User fees: 72 percent of budget
- Federal Funds: 10 percent
- State General Revenue: 11 percent
- Other sources: 6 percent
The Texas Parks and Wildllife Department's primary source of revenue comes from the Sporting Goods Sales Tax;
however, the Legislators have capped the amount received by the Department at $32 million. In looking at funding
alternatives, which TPWD could use for park and open space acquisition, the following statutory alternatives were recommened by the Sunset Commission:
- increase the cap on the sporting goods sales tax,
- remove the cap and replace it with an authorizization for the legislature to set a cap each biennium in the the
general appropriations bill or the legislature could establish a floating cap based on a percentage of the total amount of revenue raised through the sporting goods tax,
- the Legisature could consider requesting Texas voters to approve a new series of General Obligation Bondsfor
acquisiton of devleopment park and conservation lands.
The Sunset Commission stated that "if the Legislature chooses to provide additional funding, the Department could
provide additional services to better meet Texas' conservation and recreation needs."*
Of these recommendations, the Sunset Commission and the majority of public comments recommended that sporting
goods cap be lifted and bonds be put before voters.(A bond was passed in 2001; the cap has not been lifted as of
February 2003) The bond initiative was for repairs of state parks and facilities, not for acquisition of additional parkland.
Public Land Needs in Texas
As the population of Texas increases, the need to improve and acquire land for public recreation and conservation is
recognized by most state and local park and recreational professionals. One of the key findings of a Texas Tech
conservation and recreation study conducted for TPWD in 2001 was that 45 percent of Texans polled "strongly support
more Texas Parks and Wildlife funding to buy additional land for conservation and natural resources and outdoor recreation."*
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Recreation and Conservation Lands Managed by
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
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Total TPWD's State Parks, Natural Areas, Historic Site Acreage
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600,4971 acres
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Total Wildlife Management Acre Acreage
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776,0992 acres
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Texas Parks and Wildlife Facility Acreage
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8,577 acres
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Total Texas Parks and Wildlife Managed Acreage
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1,3087,073 acres
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Interestingly a 36.5 percent of Recreation and Conservation Lands Administered by the Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department is leased from the Federal government.
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1. Of that amount, 43,276 acres is leased from the federal government
2. Of that amount, 463,212 is leased from the federal government and the remainder from private owners.
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The approximately 1,387,073.28 acres of State Parks, Natural areas, Historic sites and Wildllife Management Areas
administered by the TPWD provides 52 acres of state parkland per 1,000 people. In the 2001 study commissioned by
Texas Parks and Wildlife and conducted by Texas Tech University, Loomis Austin recommended that Texas adopt a
ratio of 55 acres of state parkland (state parks, state natural areas, and state historic sites) per 1000 people. Again
according to the Texas Tech study, this would place Texas in the 75th percentile in national ranking for state parks.
To reach this goal the State would need to acquire an additional 1,428,117 acres of parkland by 2030. In 2002, Texas
Parks and Wildllife Commissioners approved a Land and Water Conservation plan for the state. In this plan, the
Commissioners called for the establishment of 4 to 6 state parks of at least 5,000 acres near urban centers over the
next ten years,this falls short of providing 55 acres per 1000 people.*
The importance of local parks to fill recreational needs has also been recognized. In 2001, Texas had a statewide
average of 12.2 acres of local parkland per 1,000 people. The National Recreation and Park Association has
established a goal of 25 acres of local parkland per 1000 people. On this issue, the Texas Tech study recommends that
an additional 558,722 acres of land be acquired by cities, counties, and special districts by 2030 to meet this national goal. *
Federal Lands in Texas
At the federal level, parkland acquisitions are authorized by Congress and carried out by the National Park Service, an
agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Each national park has its own legislation, which defines, among other
things, the boundaries of the park. However, some national parks in Texas, such as the LBJ Park, the Big Thicket, and
the Fort Davis National Historic Site may accept land donations and thus extend their boundaries without legislative
approval. As of August 2001, there was no Congressional legislation designating additional acquisitions in Texas by the
National Park Service. In Texas, the National Park Service manages approximately 1,223,133 acres.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency of the Interior Department, acquires wildlife habitat and refuges, which
can also provide recreational opportunities for the public. These acquisitions are in response to Congressional action.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages approximately 643,697 acres of public lands in Texas.
The U.S. Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), acquires national forestland to ,
which also provides recreational opportunities. These acquisitions also are made at the direction of Congress. The
U.S.Forest Service does not anticipate acquiring new forestland in Texas in the near bfuture.* As of 2002, there were
637,000 acres of national forestland in Texas, the majority of which are located in East Texas. U.S. Forest Service also manages 118,000 acres of national grasslands.
The conservation and preservation of land for public enjoyment and wildlife habitat have depended not only on the
actions of state and federal governments, but also on the activities of private not-for-profit organizations operating in
the public interest. The Nature Conservancy of Texas, a not-for-profit organization that helps preserve significant
natural areas, has been working in Texas since 1966. The Conservancy identifies acreage that needs to be protected
and then preserves the land through gift, lease, trade, or purchase. The organization also works with private
landowners who want to manage land for conservation purposes. In 1997 the Nature Conservancy of Texas had 28,000 members and had acquired more than 350,000 acres of land.*
Also active in Texas is the Trust for Public Land, a national not-for-profit organization that helps communities acquire
land for parks, community gardens, recreational areas, trails, and greenways. Since 1979, the Trust has helped protect
over 30,000 acres in Texas, including Government Canyon in Bexar County, Barton Creek Wilderness Park and Colorado
River Park in Austin, Great Trinity Forest in Dallas, a community park in Arlington, and part of Katy Prairie in Katy. The
Trust is also instrumental in helping communities develop urban trails and local parks in low-income neighborhoods.*
In addition, thirty-six not-for-profit land trusts in Texas have been instrumental in helping to protect open space,wildlife habitat ,watersheds, farm and ranch land and riparian corridors. As of 2000, these land trusts had protected 307, 717
acres in 95 counties.* The Texas Land Trust Council in cooperation with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department provides support to the Texas land trust organizations
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PARKS, FORESTS, AND REFUGE ACREAGE IN TEXAS
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AGENCY
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ACREAGE
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U.S. Forest Service
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637,000 Acres
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118,000 Acres
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National Park Service
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1,223,133 Acres
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
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643,697Acres
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US Army Corp of Engineers
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795,543 Acres
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Bureau of Reclamation
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65,471 Acres
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Bureau of Land Management
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11,707 Acres
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
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35,960 Acres
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Texas Parks and Wildlife
(State Parks, Natural Areas, Historical
Sites, Wildlife Management Areas)
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1,387,073 Acres
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Texas Forest Service
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8,386 Acres
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Texas River Authorities
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15,172 Acres
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Texas Cities & Counties
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264,460 Acres
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Private Hunting and Fishing Club
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3,806 Acres
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Total:
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4,186,580 Acres
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Source: Information obtained from Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department, Texas Forest Service, US Fish & Wildlife, Texas Tech University, Texas Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit, Inventory of Conservation and
Recreation Land in Texas ( Lubbock, Texas, 2002
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