From 2007-2012, Texas saw a net loss of nearly 1.1 million acres of privately-owned farms, ranches and forests.
The Texas Agricultural Land Trust (TALT) is trying to help preserve rural lands for agricultural production, water and wildlife conservation. As part of this effort, they are hosting a landowner seminar on April 15.
Ken Cearly, stewardship director for TALT, said most of the 1.1 million acres lost will not be reversed in its land use. He said factors contributing to rural land loss are land development and estate taxes, also known as the death tax.
“That is a bad scenario for Texas, or for any state for that matter, because the land parcels become smaller and smaller—finally so small they aren’t really productive or they aren’t viably operated from the standpoint of agriculture,” Cearly said in an interview with the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network.
TALT can provide tools for landowners and city and county officials to help conserve rural land and make it available for wildlife habitat, as well as agricultural production. Cearly said it’s all about what the landowner desires.
The free seminar is set for April 15 on Shoreline Drive in Corpus Christi from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Landowners, attorneys, landowner advisors, natural resource professionals and city or county officials are encouraged to attend.
The seminar will focus on how the trends in land loss impact water quality and wildlife, and how it directly impacts a landowner’s ability to manage property and pass their family land to future generations.
Topics will include: The changing South Texas landscape, impact of land fragmentation in South Texas, impact of fragmentation on water quality in the Nueces River and minimizing the impact of oil and gas development.
For more information or to register, click here.