Farm Bureau Defends Voluntary
Habitat Plan Underway At TP&WD

WACO — The president of Texas' largest farm organization said Friday that an effort by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to develop a voluntary, landownerbased approach to habitat conservation is being unfairly criticized and distorted.

"Some groups are more concerned about preserving their own fledgling membership base than finding a workable solution to this issue," said Bob Stallman, president of the Texas Farm Bureau.

Stallman, a rice producer from Columbus, said the Farm Bureau has been working alongside other agricultural and natural resource groups in helping TP&WD develop a draft of a proposal, called the Central Texas Rare Species Conservation Plan. The goal of the plan is to offer landowners an opportunity to voluntarily designate portions of their property as habitat for endangered species.

In return, landowners are assured "regulatory certainty" that no further habitat designations will be made on their property, even though additional habitat might be created by normal rangeland practices in the future.

"Throughout the drafting process, the TP&WD has provided landowners an opportunity to review the proposal, asking them to compare the state plan with the current regulatory provisions of the federal ESA as they exist today," Stallman said.

"When given that choice, landowners prefer the state plan because it is voluntary and because it prevents the federal requirements of ESA from being instituted on their land."

Stallman said it is unfortunate that groups such as the American Land Foundation and Liberty Matters are misleading their members and the public by releasing information that scares landowners and boosts their membership.

TFB offered the following responses to common criticisms of the TP&WD plan:

(1.) It will lock up more than one million acres of private land.

Response: This proposal (which is still in draft form) is strictly voluntary, being developed with the direct involvement of landowners from throughout the hill country. Even when a landowner chooses to participate, his land and its use is not "locked up." Anyone choosing to cooperate will have a set of options from which to pick.

(2.) It will prohibit the modification or disturbance of "baseline" or "suitable" habitat.

Response: Existing endangered species-related land management restrictions in the hill country are due to the ESA. These management guidelines were developed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and its Private Lands Steering Committee several years ago.

(3.) It will even lock up private land where no endangered species are present because "suitable" habitat includes "all lands that harbor or could support" the listed species.

Response: This proposal includes activities that are compatible with land use practices on private lands. If adopted, it will make it easier for cooperators to exist within the provisions of the ESA.

(4.) Private landowners will not receive compensation for resulting loss of economic value.

Response: The ESA does not currently provide for compensation for losses in economic value associated with listing of a threatened or endangered species. This proposal seeks to avoid economic losses by giving landowners some options to choose from if they want to participate. If land use practices result in the production of additional habitat the landowner will not be penalized for having that habitat.

(5.) People who own "suitable habitat" will need government permission to clear brush on their own land.

Response: Again, any restrictions on land use are a result of the ESA, not this proposal. This proposal is designed to reduce involvement by the federal government, and to protect landowner confidentiality.

(6.) Private landowners will have to "mitigate" (i.e. give up land, money or both) in exchange for such permission.

Response: The "Safe Harbor" part of this proposal is provided so that landowners who choose to, can grow new habitat that may become occupied with warblers or vireos, with less concern about the ESA. They would be able to do this and maintain their confidentiality by working within a management plan which is kept confidential by Texas law.