Texas Environmental Almanac, Chapter 4, Wildlife, Page 2

Note: Numbers add to more than 660 species since individual species often rely on more than one habitat to survive. Forest includes deciduous, evergreen and mixed forests. Rangeland includes herbaceous, mixed and shrub or brushlands. Barren includes beaches and sand regions other than beaches, dry salt flats, exposed rock, mines/quarries/pits, mixed barren lands and transition lands. Water includes bays and estuaries, lakes, reservoirs, streams and canals and other undesignated water ecosystems. Wetland includes forested, nonforested and nondesignated wetlands.

Source: World Resources Institute, The 1994 Information Please Environmental Almanac. From Curtis H. Flather, Linda A. Joyce and Carol A. Bloomgarden, Species Endangerment Patterns in the United States (USDA Forest Service, General Technical Report RM-100, December 31, 1992), Table 3, n.p.

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WILDLIFE AND HABITAT PROTECTION LEGISLATION IN TEXAS

Texas has a legislative history of species and habitat protection. According to author Robin Doughty, due to over-hunting, the decline of deer, turkey and fur-bearing animals in Texas was noticeable by the 1830s and 40s.(10) A decline in certain bird species was also documented at this time. In response, the Texas Legislature enacted game laws. Game laws are still prevalent today and are used to prevent the demise, or in some cases, to control the proliferation of specific species.

• In 1860, the first game law in Texas provided closed season for the hunting of quail on Galveston Island; this act did not attempt to provide for wildlife protection statewide but was aimed at protecting the quail of Galveston Island, which were being over-hunted.(11)

• In 1879, Governor Oran M. Roberts created the first state institution for the conservation of animals. The State Fish Commissioner was appointed to improve the conditions of freshwater fish species and marine organisms that were being heavily exploited as a food resource and also were being affected by water pollution.(12)

• In 1903, under the Act to Preserve and Protect the Wild Game, Wild Birds and Wild Fowl, the state established a five-year closed season for the hunting of antelope, mountain sheep, and pheasants and ended commerce in wild animal meat, skins and plumage.

• In 1907, a law authorized the new Game, Fish and Oyster Commissioner to sell hunting licenses to finance enforcement of game laws. (In 1910, however, the Texas Legislature appropriated the fund for other purposes and little enforcement took place.)

• In 1925, a state law was passed to establish game preserves on privately held land.

• In l973, The Texas Legislature enacted a state Endangered Species Act, which was amended in l981, 1985 and l987. The Act gave the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) the authority to establish a list of fish, wildlife and plants endangered or threatened with statewide extinction. Once listed, these species are afforded protection and are eligible for restoration efforts.

• In 1983, The Texas Legislature established a Special Non-game and Endangered Species Fund to support non-game and endangered species research and management. The Fund receives money from fines, the sale of posters, stamps, and decals and from private donations. Also, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shares a portion of the money it receives from the federal excise tax on hunting equipment with the states to support non-game and endangered species research and management.

• In 1991, the 72nd Legislature adopted a bill adding wildlife management to the list of "agricultural uses" which qualified otherwise taxable open land for special appraisal valuation for property tax purposes. Though the Attorney General must still address some unanswered questions regarding the interpretation of this bill, essentially farmers who take land out of production and return it to a natural state for the purpose of wildlife management may be taxed according to the land's productivity value rather than its market value. In other words, the land retains its "agricultural use" property-tax status.

In the state Endangered Species Act, there is no state criterion for protecting wildlife species from indirect take (e.g., destruction of habitat or unfavorable management practices). The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department does have a Memorandum of Understanding with every state agency to conduct a thorough environmental review of state initiated and funded projects, such as highways, reservoirs, land acquisition and building construction, to determine the potential impact on state endangered or threatened species.

PUBLIC OPINION: WHO IS LISTENING?

Surveys conducted separately by Texas A&M University and Rice University reflect Texans' strong concern for wildlife. A 1989 Texas A&M survey revealed that 93 percent of Texans believe that endangered species should be protected.(13) A Rice University poll conducted in December 1994 showed that 56 percent of those surveyed were willing to spend more tax monies to set aside and protect wilderness areas for endangered species in Texas; 37 percent were against spending more tax monies. Sixty-one percent of those surveyed agreed that "when humans change the natural environment, by building dams or clearing forests, it often can have disasterous results." Moreover, 64 percent of those interviewed agreed with the following view: "Some restrictions on property rights are justified to protect important aspects of the environment, such as wetlands or endangered species."(14)

A nationwide poll conducted in May 1994 found Americans surveyed supported setting aside more land for conservation and making landowners abide by rules to protect plants and animals. The poll indicated that 66 percent of those interviewed stated that they were more concerned with the environment than they had been a few years ago. Some 65 percent of those interviewed said more land should be set aside for conservation purposes.(15)

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FISH AND WILDLIFE CONDITIONS IN TEXAS

Known for its ecological diversity, Texas is the home of 5,500 plant species, 425 of which only occur in Texas. Of 1,100 vertebrate species in Texas, 60 are found nowhere else in the world. With 540 bird species, Texas has more than any other state in the U.S.

As of December 1, 1993, the federal government listed 629 U.S. plant and animal species as endangered and 189 as threatened. Four hundred and ninety-five foreign only (not found in the United States) plant and animals species are endangered and 38 foreign only plant and animal species are threatened. In the future, it is expected that 3,000 species may need to be listed as endangered and threatened.

There are 75 federally listed and proposed species in Texas: 27 plants; 48 birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, amphibians, arachnids and insects. There are 151 state listed species in Texas: 25 plants, 126 animals.

Source: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Information furnished by the Resource Protection Division. Austin, Texas. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Texas State Office, 1995 listing.

Extinction of animal species in Texas has increased dramatically since the turn of the century. Prior to 1900, three species were known to have disappeared. Between 1901-1958 four species are known to have disappeared. From 1959 to the present, ten species have disappeared. Of these 17 species, six are globally extinct.

The extinction rate in Texas of plant species is difficult to ascertain. The survival of plant species has become a public concern only recently, and inventories are limited.

Texas has the third highest number of listed endangered and threatened species of any state. Florida and Hawaii are number one and number two. Besides those species currently listed as endangered and threatened, there is evidence to indicate that another 305 species in Texas are candidates for the endangered and threatened lists.(18)

According to the American Fisheries Society's endangered species committee, Texas is one of the most hazardous places in the United States for a fish species. The state has lost six species of fish - four since 1980.(19) In 1994, 29 fish species are listed as endangered or threatened.

Interestingly, concern for the decline in freshwater fish species in the mid 1800s in Texas spurred the state's first conservation institution - the Fish Commissioner. Because the Fish Commissioner had limited resources and authority, however, the office did little to improve conditions for fish species. Instead, the Fish Commissioner attempted to compensate for the decline in native species by introducing European carp to Texas.(20)

The following are the number of species identified as special to the state of Texas based on global rarity or federal and state endangered and threatened listing status:(21)

The Federal Endangered Species Act requires states to design a recovery program for each listed species. In Texas, the legislature delegated this responsibility to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The American alligator is the only endangered species on the Texas list that has ever been removed from the endangered list because of successful recovery activities.

Some of the methods used in recovery programs include research on the reproductive habits and ecology of rare species, examination of the taxonomic relationship of rare species to their environment and each other to determine appropriate survival and management strategies, assistance to landowners to improve wildlife habitat, and the purchase, where funds are available, of wildlife habitats. Texas Parks and Wildlife receives enough money to study only one in 10 endangered species.(22)

Though scientists understand the importance of habitat to the life of a species, they are just beginning to determine what constitutes livable space for a species. Biologists do know, however, that the loss of one species in an ecosystem can sometimes threaten the balance of the entire ecosystem and may cause its demise. For instance, Texas Parks and Wildlife speculates that the extirpation of the Black-footed Ferret may have contributed to problems managing prairie dog populations.(23)

Wildlife viewing in Texas generates $1.4 billion of economic activity in Texas per year.

Source: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Texas Environmental Almanac, Chapter 4, Wildlife, Page 2

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