TFC also assists a wide variety of organizations that may not have full-time representation at the Capitol but are interested in conservation policy. As a key coalition builder, TFC often serves as a clearing house for policy matters amongst peers, colleagues and other organizations.
Current areas of focus include:
Fund 9 Decline
The Game, Fish, and Water Safety Account is projected to run a deficit as soon as 2028.
Fund 9 is a general revenue-dedicated account established by the Legislature in 1975 to receive hunting and fishing license and stamp revenues for the purposes of administration and enforcement of game, fish, and water safety laws, fisheries and wildlife management and conservation, research, boat ramps, shooting ranges, and other uses provided by law.
Revenue from several different sources makes up Fund 9, but the majority comes from fees collected from hunting and fishing license sales, various stamps and boat registrations. Importantly, statute prohibits the use of the account for purposes not allowed by federal law as a condition for receipt of federal matching funds from the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act, Wallop-Breaux Aquatic Resources Act, and Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act. There is a three-to-one federal match. Thus, the impact of these funds, when appropriated, is far greater than the initial dollar amount.
Fund 9 is critical to TPWD operations. Coastal Fisheries, Inland Fisheries, Wildlife, and Law Enforcement Divisions all rely heavily on Fund 9 revenue for their budgets.
Oyster Management and Mariculture
The foundation of our bays and estuaries is at risk.
The ecosystem services provided by oyster reefs are well documented. Each oyster filters 50 gallons of water per day, which reduces turbidity and removes particulates, microorganisms and bacteria. Oyster reefs control shoreline erosion and provide critical habitat for numerous finfish and crustaceans at various times of their lifecycle.
Due to human-induced and natural causes, reefs that once offered sanctuary for shore birds no longer breach the water’s surface, and reefs that once protected shorelines from erosion are no longer high enough to absorb wave energy across the bays.
Constant pressure from the commercial oyster industry and natural disasters have decimated the public oyster reefs. Restoration is expensive, and even restored reefs may be subject to future harvest from the oyster industry.
There is a program in place to buy out commercial oyster licenses, but it has not been successful and needs to be retooled.
The oyster mariculture industry has the potential to reduce pressure on the wild, public reefs, but it’s still in its infancy. There are opportunities to streamline the permitting process and ease some of the regulatory constraints to help move the industry in the right direction.
Chronic Wasting Disease Management
TPWD is forging a new path
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has spread across the Texas landscape since the first confirmed case in a wild mule deer in 2012. To date, the vast majority of CWD positives have been found in the deer breeding pens, and many people blame the deer breeding industry for the spread of the disease.
Although TPWD has the right to depopulate CWD deer breeding facilities, the path is seldom quick and easy. Several deer breeders have turned to litigation, and at least two cases have made it all the way to the Texas Supreme Court. TPWD has prevailed, but the Legislature suffers from CWD fatigue, and the “small business owner -vs- overreaching state government” argument resonates with a number of elected officials.
Further complicating the issue is the fact that Texas Animal Health Commission shares jurisdiction with TPWD because CWD can affect exotic livestock, which are privately owned in Texas.
A rash of CWD-related legislation has been filed every session since 2017, most of which was designed to impede or outright strip TPWD’s ability to respond to the disease. Texas Foundation for Conservation expects 2025 to be no different.
Texas Farm and Ranch Land Conservation Program
An opportunity to expand landowner incentives for conservation easements.
The Texas Farm and Ranch Land Conservation Program (TFRLCP) was created in 2005 as a program within the General Land Office. The program moved to TPWD in 2015, along with the very modest funding of $2 million per biennium. This pass-through program offers grant funding for landowners who want to place conservation easements on their property; in other words, selling the development rights. This financial incentive allows landowners to hold on to working lands and reduces habitat fragmentation. TFC, along with members from the land trust community, is actively seeking additional funding for this important program.
Our Impact
Since 2016, TFC has played an integral role in key legislative wins, including:
- Improved state park funding
- Constitutional dedication of Sporting Goods Sale Tax
- Centennial Parks Conservation Fund
- Various TPWD budget matters
- Salary increases for game wardens and state park police
- Funding for Captain Murchison offshore patrol boat
- $10 million for purchase of a wildlife management area
- Defeat of undesirable Chronic Wasting Disease and oyster legislation
“If we lose wilderness, we have nothing left worth fighting for.“
– Aldo Leopold