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A site map crossing Hwy. 67 of the land Texas Parks and Wildlife Department approved to acquire and use as a new Wildlife Management Area. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission voted last week to pursue the acquisition. (Contributed photo) -
A vicinity map showing the location of 2,850 acres of Stephens County land approved for purchase by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department as a new Wildlife Management Area. (Contributed photo)
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission will be acquiring 2,850 acres of land in Stephens County approximately 10 miles northeast of Breckenridge for a new Wildlife Management Area.
Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) are operated by the Wildlife Division of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
TPWD utilizes the sites for research on wildlife populations and habitat, conducts education and demonstration of resource management techniques and makes the sites available for public hunting, hiking, camping and other outdoor recreational activities.
The commission voted to approve the acquisition from a willing seller during their meeting Thursday, March 26 in Austin. The Stephens County WMA will be called the Robbie Davis Wildlife Management Area.
Stan David, who serves as a TPWD Senior Project Manager and Real Estate Land Conservation, presented the proposed acquisition during the meeting.
“(The) proposed acquisition of land… includes native wildlife and habitat that are representative of the rolling plains ecosystem. This acquisition of this tract will help to expand the wildlife management area footprint in this region of Texas,” David said. “Staff believe this property is suitable for a new wildlife management area, and acquisition will provide new public hunting opportunities and habitat conservation.”
The commission works to acquire WMAs from willing sellers to help improve public recreational opportunities, conserve fish and wildlife habitats and ensure conservation of existing TPWD public lands.
Online comments were accepted regarding the land acquisition at tpwd.texas.gov through 5 Wednesday, March 25.
The department received a total of 52 comments regarding the proposed acquisition, with 49 in favor and three against.
One of the reasons against the acquisition was regarding transparency on the purchase price.
“We have rules that we are protected from publishing the price before we close,” David said.
Matt Wagner, executive director of the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society, thanked the commission for approving the acquisition in Stephens County.
“There are currently 50 WMAs in the state encompassing nearly 750,000 acres. Although this sounds like a big number, in a state that is over 170,000,000 acres it’s less than one half of 1% of the land area,” Wagner said.
The Wildlife Society is a nonprofit scientific and educational organization that represents wildlife professionals in areas of wildlife conservation and resource management.
Wagner said the WMA in Stephens County will offer quality dove hunting which helps to recruit new hunters and youth.
“These WMAs are very important, not just for public hunting, but as living laboratories for wildlife and habitat research and demonstration sites for private landowners,” Wagner said.
With over 31 million state residents and over 1 million hunters, Wagner said WMAs provide a way for all to participate in the activity.
“Although there are many factors driving the low number of hunters per capita, in Texas and around the country one of the biggest factors is a lack of affordable access to land to hunt on and our WMAs provide that access, as do many of our state parks,” he said.
