Winter 2016

TEXAS LAND / Lifestyle Issue
TEXAS WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION
BY DAVID YEATES, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Texas Wildlife Association (TWA) is wrapping up another great year of
education programs, hunter outreach, public policy work, membership
growth and the critical fundraising necessary to make it all happen. We
are working to spread the “gospel” of voluntary land stewardship and
its value to all Texans farther, wider, and more effectively in the coming
year. TWA’s staff and volunteers will always strive to improve on every
front because our mission is too important for complacency.
The 85th Texas Legislative Session is right around the corner and TWA
has been working all year to prepare. TWA professional lobby staff and
volunteers will spend many hours at the Capitol advocating for Texas’
land, water and wildlife. During the 85th Session, we plan to focus
on four core issues: eminent domain reform, groundwater as private
property, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department funding and responsible
management of Chronic Wasting Disease.
Eminent Domain Reform
TWA has been working in partnership with a coalition of rural
landowner groups (14 total at the time of this writing) to advance
meaningful reform to existing eminent domain statute. While
we recognize the value of commerce and the need to improve
infrastructure to support our state’s burgeoning population, we believe
that property rights must be respected and that the impacts to our wild
places and wild things should be minimized where possible.
One statutory improvement we intend to pursue is a key concept
commonly known as “betterment.” If a condemning entity (public
or private) and a landowner do not agree on a purchase price, then
they enter into condemnation and litigation. If the landowner prevails
in proving a higher market value (betterment over original offer), the
landowner is not entitled to recoup legal costs from the condemning
entity. At best, the landowner receives the fair market value of their
property, less the legal costs to establish and defend that market value.
This gives condemning entities an unfair advantage and abridges
landowners’ property rights. Texas landowners deserve a level playing
field, which we to hope help provide in this Session.
Groundwater as Private Property
TWA has been a staunch supporter of groundwater as private property
for many years. This has been codified in statute and ratified by the
Texas Supreme Court.
Last Session brought a handful of bills that sought to erode absolute
ownership by implementing new regulatory structures or by creating
different classes of ownership such as brackish groundwater. With
the help of like-minded organizations and wise elected officials, those
undesirable bills were defeated.
With a massive urban/rural imbalance in Texas and multiple interests
competing for groundwater, we anticipate another busy Session on this
front. Our goal is to strike a balance between property rights, natural
resource conservation and Texans’ water needs.
TPWD Funding
TWA believes Texas is extraordinarily well-served by our state fish
and game agency, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). The
department budget is less than 1 percent of the state budget, and all
law enforcement and fisheries/wildlife divisions are funded through
hunting and fishing license sales.
Unfortunately, license sales revenue largely is static while expenses
continue to climb. Adequate TPWD funding will depend on the hunting
and angling community’s support—and TWA will be front and center.
The science-based research and conservation law enforcement
needed to manage our rich wildlife resources are critical to our state’s
culture and wildlife-related economy.
Chronic Wasting Disease Management
The fourth focus of TWA’s legislative agenda will be the continued
responsible management of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Texas’
deer and exotic wildlife herds. Since the last Session, there have been
multiple confirmed findings of CWD in captive deer breeding facilities
and free-range mule deer in Texas.
TWA has been extremely active and attentive to this issue, urging a
responsible and measured response by all stakeholders and regulatory
agencies. We will continue to work toward reasonable compromises
that are in the best interest of hunting and wildlife here in Texas.
For more information on TWA policies and positions on all of these
matters, please visit texas-wildlife.org, or call (210) 826-4933.
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