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FYI
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For fiscal years 1998 and 1999, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department was
appropriated $1,635,000 for habitat acquisition and $17,116,943 to increase and improve wildlife habitat for public hunting and nonconsumptive activities.75 Among
other activities, the money will be used to operate the TPWD's 52 wildlife management areas, to assist private landowners in developing wildlife management plans,
and to conduct wildlife surveys.*
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Endangered Species Act's Habitat Conservationn Plans and Incidental Take
The U.S, Fish and Wildlife Serivce recognizes that private landowners as
well as federal,state,local governments might engage in activities on their land that incidentally ( "take") harm a federally listed endangered or
threatened species. Before a property owner can engage in a harmful activity an incidental take permit must be obtained from the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service. To receive a permit, the landowner must develop and have approved a Habitat Conservation Plan,which would help compensate for any harm that might occur to the species.
- Under a Habitat Conservation Plan, landowners give up their right
to develop certain acreage considered critical habitat to the survival of endangered or threatened species. In return,
landowners can develop nondesignated acreage without any obligation to protect endangered or threatened species on the land covered by the plan.
- As of 2002, 413 Habitat Conservation Plansnationwide, covering approxmately 30 million acres and protecting
more than 200 endangered and threatened species, were issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service, the majority of the permits are in California.
- As of April 1999, there were 107 Habitat Conservation Plans in Texas.*
An alternative approach to the HCP has been the "Safe Harbor" agreement designed by the national not-for -profit
Environmental Defense organization. The Environmental Defense organization, in response to private landowners'
criticism of Endangered Species Habitat Conservation Plan permit process, conceived of the "safe harbor" conservation
agreements for endangered species on private land. The Fish and Wildlife Service adopted a national policy regarding the use of safe harbor agreements in 1997.
- Under a safe harbor agreement, a landowner is allowed to "freeze" his Endangered Species Act obligations if
the landowner agrees to restore, enhance, or create habitat for that species. That is, the landowner can do
anything he wants on the new habitat even if another endangered species moves in. His only obligation is to
maintain the original habitat for the original endangered or threatened species. Proponents of safe harbor
agreements believe that more habitat will be restored or created using this process.
- In Texas, the safe harbor agreement is being used to restore 44, 314 acres of privately held land to benefit the
endangered Attwater's prairie chicken on the Texas Coast, the safe harbor agreement is also being used to
enhance 1. 6 million aces of ranchland in South Texas for the reintroduction of the Aplomado falcon, in East
Texas , 7,000 acres are enrolled in the program to to preserve habitat for the Red-cockaded woodpecker, and
in central Texas 65,000 acres are being restored under the program for the Yellow-cheeked warbler and Black-capped vireo.
Conservation Easements are being used in Texas and across the country to protect agricultural land, wildlife habitat,
and open space. "A conservation easement is a restriction a landowner voluntarily places on specified uses of his
property to protect natural, productive, or cultural features. A conservation easement is recorded as a written legal
agreement between the landowner and the "holder" of the easement, which may be either a nonprofit conservation organization, a land trust, or a government entity."*
There are also a number of ongoing nonregulatory programs, tax incentive proposals, public-private partnerships, not
profit initiatives and country-to-country cooperative arrangements aimed at preserving the rich wetlands and other vital
wildlife habitat found in Texas. Since most wildlife habitat is located on private land, the success of habitat restoration and preservation is dependent on voluntary landowner participation.
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