Texas LAND•Spring 2017

TEXAS WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION
BY DAVID YEATES, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Texas Wildlife Association (TWA) had another busy year in
2016. We added some new staff members, along with their
energy and fresh ideas, to the TWA team.
Staff and volunteer efforts to drive recruitment and retention
by focusing on value, outreach, and incentives pushed our
membership to about 10,000. It’s invigorating to see TWA’s
message resonate with our fellow Texans.
Our education programs reached 661,000 Texans achieving
a new high watermark this year. Our Texas Big Game Award
banquets had more attendees and entries than ever before.
Our Texas Youth Hunting Program hosted nearly 200 hunts
which put about 1,200 young Texans in the field. Let there
be no doubt, these programs make a difference for Texas:
eyes are opened, lessons are learned, hunters are made, and
conservationists are born.
At this writing, the Texas Legislature has just convened its 85th
Session. TWA is fully engaged on behalf of our members. We
are keeping a vigilant eye on all land, water and wildlife issues.
During this session we hope to advance meaningful reforms to
eminent domain statutes, establishing more equitable treatment
for rural landowners. We are fortunate to not only have strong
partners but the “high ground” on the argument. We will
continue working to maintain responsible disease management
in our wildlife resources, which includes sufficient funding
for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas
Animal Health Commission. We will also be standing for the
established ownership of groundwater as private property.
The makeup of the Texas Legislature reflects our state’s
massive rural/urban imbalance, creating headwinds for our
policy priorities. It’s only through active engagement and
organized efforts with like-minded organizations that we can
hold the line for our great state’s remaining wild, open spaces.
Just as TWA needs partners for our policy efforts, we need
partners for our Texas Youth Hunting Program. Please take a
moment to reflect on this past hunting season and consider
whether you had time to host a hunt on your property or to
volunteer to help with a hunt.
As I mentioned, TYHP hosts about 200 hunts a year with just
five staff members. Oftentimes, there will be 20 or more hunts
running simultaneously on any given weekend. How do we do it?
With the generous support of volunteers and willing landowners.
These hunts get young Texans, who have little or no other
opportunity to hunt, out in the field. They are accompanied by
their parent or guardian and are under the tutelage of trained
volunteers. We incorporate educational activities and the
“gospel” of land stewardship into each hunt.
This program has a huge impact. For many of these kids, this is
not only the first time they will experience Texas’s rich wildlife
resources, but it is the first time they’ve ever seen stars in
the night sky or heard the birds awaken at sun rise. If you’re
interested in helping, please contact us at the TWA office at
(800) 839-9453. In our experience, the landowners who are
hosting hunts get as much—or more—out the weekend as the
young hunters.
Each summer we host the TWA Annual Convention at the J.W.
Marriott Hill Country Resort and Spa in San Antonio. This year it
will be held July 13–15. Mark your calendars now. Visit
www.Texas-Wildlife.org to register.
The educational programs are second to none; the trade show
is one of the best in the state; the speakers are engaging;
the fellowship is welcoming; the food is great; the drinks are
cold, and the accommodations are first-class. As part of the
weekend, we host the statewide Texas Big Game Awards,
a Private Lands Summit and a Grand Auction with items
of exceptional quality, including hunts that are unavailable
elsewhere. This convention helps fund our programs, but more
importantly it gives our members—new and old—a chance to
get together to celebrate the wildlife of Texas.
As a fellow enthusiast for Texas’s open spaces, thanks for all
that you do to care for them.
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