The state of fish and wildlife in Texas is in good shape according to Carter Smith, Executive Director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. And two of the main reasons for optimism are dedicated private landowners and overwhelming citizen concern for wildlife.
Carter Smith, Executive Director of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, says, ''You know, I am really very optimistic about the future of the fish and wildlife in Texas. You know we hear so much about all of the threats to the natural resources, and obviously we spend a lot of time working to abate those threats. But, when we look at it and we see trends like the delisting of the brown pelican from the endangered species list, the movement of black bears back into northeast Texas…we are seeing the interest in private landowners in wildlife conservation literally explode."
With 95 percent of the remaining wildlands in Texas in the hands of private landowners it is heartening to realize what dedicated stewards of the land many of the state's landowners are.
Smith says, "You know, just eight ears ago we had about eight million acres under wildlife management plans, voluntary plans in which we work cooperatively with landowners to provide technical assistance to manage their habitat and wildlife populations. Today, eight years later, we have got 26 million acres under wildlife management plans."
In addition to unprecedented levels of conservation efforts among landowners, the general public as reflected in a recent poll also strongly supports conservation measures.
"Ninety-nine percent of all Texans who responded said that in spite of these economic times each and every one of us had a personal responsibility to protect the state's lands, waters and wildlife", says Smith.
With your Nature Report I'm Richard Moore.
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