By Jorjanna Price
Photo Credit: Shield Ranch

Is there anything better than picking up binoculars and focusing on the splendid sight of a golden-cheeked warbler? Maybe one thing could enhance the experience—getting a property tax break while enjoying the sight.

Landowners fortunate to have native species of birds and other animals on their property could be in line for such a benefit. Under the Texas tax code, rural properties now being appraised as agricultural lands or timber lands may convert to an appraisal based on wildlife management.

The key is managing and preserving the open space for the benefit of species native to the Lone Star, such as songbirds, doves, bats, bees, owls, and rabbits. All qualify if they are suitable for the property. Exotic species do not count.

Interested in learning more about Wildlife Tax Valuation or Wildlife Management for Bird Conservation?  Please join us at our upcoming Bird Conservation Workshop on Tuesday, Nov 18 at Shield Ranch, hosted by Travis Audubon in partnership with Texas Parks and Wildlife and Shield Ranch

Landowners seeking a wildlife tax valuation are expected to provide a sustainable breeding, migrating or winter population of native wild animals. Management practices can include habitat and erosion control, supplemental water and food (milkweed), supplemental shelters, and/or census counts of native populations. Examples of good practices are providing brush piles, shelter (birdhouses), and predator control (cowbird trapping).

Of the 7 million acres in Texas having this wildlife valuation in 2023, most were former sites with agricultural operations. Farmers and ranchers who no longer run an ag business can keep the same agricultural tax valuations as long as they maintain their land as wild by preserving native habitat and wildlife.

While the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department oversees wildlife management and offers guidance on the wildlife valuation process, the actual applications for the property appraisal are submitted through the home county. For a video, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWdMLFF9M4g.

Another approach is offered under the Texas Ecological Laboratory program, known as Eco Lab, in which landowners open their private property to ecological research. This is done in partnership with researchers at more than a dozen public and private universities in Texas.

Doing so for five years, without grazing or farming, allows landowners to transition into wildlife management—all while learning about the unique features of their rural land as it remains in a natural state. Often the result is a resurgence of wildlife and plant species. See https://texasecolabprogram.org.