http://www.environmenttexas.org/reports/preserving-texas/preserving-texas-reports http://www.environmenttexas.org/reports/preserving-texas/preserving-texas-reports/worth-more-wild-the-value-of-texas39-roadless-national-forests http://www.environmenttexas.org/reports/preserving-texas/preserving-texas-reports/worth-more-wild-the-value-of-texas39-roadless-national-forests Fri, 16 Nov 2007 19:58:12 -0600 http://www.environmenttexas.org/reports/preserving-texas/preserving-texas-reports/creating-a-world-class-parks-system-for-texas  You can’t count the many ways that state parks make life better here in Texas. They protect the clean water that we depend on. They provide a home for some of Texas’ most wondrous wildlife. The beautiful natural scenery of our parks provides a backdrop for some of the most amazing hikes you can imagine. And the breadth and range of those parks gives people all across Texas untold opportunities for fishing, swimming, camping and other recreational activities.Unfortunately, our parks system is in a state of crisis. Rampant disrepair and staff shortages due to years of budget cuts hinder the parks’ ability to protect the resources they house. In addition, the Legislature has failed to appropriate funds to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to invest for the future by acquiring new park lands.With Texas’ population expected to double in the next few decades, demand will grow for access to parks and more of our treasured natural areas will be threatened by encroaching development. Polling done by Texas Tech University found that Texans “are becoming increasingly frustrated about the lack of access to lands to experience nature.” Already, urban and suburban development is encroaching on treasured natural landscapes.The effects of population growth will be strongest in Texas’s largest cities. While the state of Texas maintains sizable parks in west Texas and other parts of the state, our metropolitan areas are notably underserved. While the state currently averages about 52 acres of parkland per 1000 people, in the cities it is far worse. The greater Houston area has only 40 acres, Austin 17.5, Dallas 15.9, and San Antonio 9.9.TPWD has proposed the establishment of new, 5,000-acre parks near these major metro areas.Dallas/Fort Worth: TPWD is considering establish a park in Palo Pinto county (just west of Fort Worth) that would protect the threatened cross-timbers ecosystemHouston: TPWD has identified the gulf coast prairies, pine-oak forests and post oak savanna near Houston as critical for protectionAustin/San Antonio: The Edwards Plateau, west of Austin and San Antonio, is a critical resource that is threatened with pollution from environmentally harmful development. South Texas plains and post oak savanna are also in need of protection near San Antonio.Rio Grande Valley: Among the least-served areas in the state, the Rio Grande Valley should protect South Texas plains.This report examines these eco-regions and illustrates the importance of these natural areas for water quality, plants and wildlife, and recreation. It also covers the threats to each region, which are largely due to urban and suburban sprawl.There is widespread public support for creating these new parks. 77% of Texans polled in a the Texas Tech study either strongly or moderately support “more Texas Parks and Wildlife funding to buy additional land for conservation of natural resources and outdoor recreation”.In 2007, the Legislature should appropriate at least $15 million for a park land acquisition program. In the long-term, Texas will need significant funding to realize the Texas Tech goal of 55 acres of parks per 1,000. With land prices continuing to rise, it is imprudent to put off these investments any longer. State leadersshould explore all potential sources of funding, including raising or eliminating the cap on the sporting goods tax, creating a new real-estate transfer tax, or submitting a general bond measure to the voters of Texas for approval.  http://www.environmenttexas.org/reports/preserving-texas/preserving-texas-reports/creating-a-world-class-parks-system-for-texas Fri, 16 Nov 2007 19:58:12 -0600 http://www.environmenttexas.org/reports/preserving-texas/preserving-texas-reports/texas-natural-areas-at-risk  Despite our state’s great size, the rapid development of Texas natural areas is having a deleterious effect on our natural resources and waterways, is jeopardizing Texas’ growing recreation and eco-tourism based industries, and is threatening the beauty, character and rural heritage of the Lone Star State.As Texas continues its dramatic growth, the stress on our natural areas will only escalate. Every hour, 20 acres of open space are destroyed in Texas to make way for new strip malls and subdivisions. Chronic under-funding of parks protection and openspace acquisition have opened the doors to developers to pave over even iconic Texas wild areas such as Big Bend and Caddo Lake. Clearly, Texas has been remiss in its stewardship of our natural heritage.This report examines specific threats to some of the Texas natural areas at greatest risk and identifies immediate opportunities to help save Texas’ natural heritage.Barton Springs and the Edwards AquiferCalled the “Soul of the City,” Austin’s Barton Springs is known across the state for great swimming and clean drinking water, but encroaching development threatens its future. With at least 7,500 acres of land in the Barton Springs watershed immediatelythreatened with development, the Austin City Council should include at least $75 million in the November 2006 bond election to acquire sensitive land that will protect this unique natural resource.Texas State ParksAlready ranked 49th in the nation in per-capita spending on state parks, the Texas Legislature cut $2 million from the budget of the state parks department in 2005. Far from growing to meet the needs of our natural resources and growing population,the parks system is barely surviving. The Legislature should establish sustainable and substantial funding to meet the basic operating and repair needs of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and to support new park acquisition.Caddo LakeHome to beautiful Spanish moss-covered cypress trees and Texas’ only naturally formed lake, the Caddo Lake region has been designated a “Wetland of International Importance” due to its critical habitat for migratory species, such as neotropical songbirds and colonial waterbirds. The U.S. Army has long planned to turn over 2,600 acres of wild areas in the former Longhorn Army Ammunitions Plant to be protected in the Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge, but a group of developers is seeking instead to use the land to build an industrial park. The development would deeply encroach into the existing wildlife refuge, fragmenting the wildlife habitat. The Army should reject development plans for these critical lands and immediately transfer them to the Fish and Wildlife Service for inclusion in the Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge.Neches River Bottomland ForestsThe old-growth oaks and bald cypress trees along east Texas’ Neches river provide critical habitat to the endangered bald eagle and red cockaded woodpecker and the threatened American Alligator and river otter. However, the area faces significantdevelopment pressures and is ranked a “number one priority” for conservation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In March 2005, the agency proposed acquiring up to 25,000 acres of hardwood forests to establish the Neches River National WildlifeRefuge. Unfortunately, water developers are pressuring Fish and Wildlife to drop plans for the Refuge so they can instead build a reservoir, flooding and destroying the forest. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should move forward immediately withestablishing the refuge.Padre IslandThe Padre Island National Seashore hosts the longest remaining stretch of undeveloped barrier island in the world and protects dunes, lagoons and rare coastal prairie. However, BNP petroleum is pursuing a plan to drill up to 18 gas wells on Padre over the next 30 years. The federal government should buy out the mineral rights under Padre Island and stop the drilling in this fragile ecosystem.      http://www.environmenttexas.org/reports/preserving-texas/preserving-texas-reports/texas-natural-areas-at-risk Fri, 16 Nov 2007 19:58:12 -0600 http://www.environmenttexas.org/reports/preserving-texas/preserving-texas-reports/preserving-americas-natural-heritage America’s open spaces are an integral part of our national identity. Our natural landscapes not only provide us with places of great beauty, but they also play a critical role in providing habitat for wildlife along with clean water, fresh air and recreational opportunities for Americans. http://www.environmenttexas.org/reports/preserving-texas/preserving-texas-reports/preserving-americas-natural-heritage Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:52:06 -0500