8TH ANNUAL PRIVATE LANDS SUMMIT

Article by Lorie A. Woodward

In Texas, the demand for access to nature and outdoor recreation outstrips the state’s supply of public land and creates an opportunity for creative, enterprising landowners.

“Population growth, urbanization and access to the outdoors is a familiar, foundational problem,” said CEO David Yeates opening the 8th Private Lands Summit held on Thursday, July 15 in San Antonio. “Today, we are going to highlight issues, opportunities and help define what success looks like for some landowners who have successfully opened their gates.”

The issue explored during the “Open Gates” summit boils down to supply and demand.

Supply? Texas is 95 percent privately owned. Of the 171 million acres that comprise its land mass, 141 million are privately owned working lands while just 1.4 million acres are public access, government-owned land.

Demand? Texas is gaining population faster than any other state in the nation. From 2000–2019, the state’s population grew from 20.9 million to 29 million; a growth rate of 15.3 percent. By 2050, demographers predict the state’s population could grow to 55 million and 60 million by 2055.

The daylong seminar featured speakers who tackled the issue from a wide range of perspectives and covered a wide range of subjects.

Hunting and Private Lands in Texas

Justin Dreibelbis, Private Lands and Public Hunting Program Director

Hunting is one activity that can be enjoyed across the generations. Texas, unlike some states, has enjoyed a slow upward trend in hunting license sales, but the number of hunters as a percentage of the population is decreasing. TPWD is an active participant in R3 (Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation) targeted to hunters.

“If we all agree hunting and recruiting the next generation of hunters is crucial to our heritage and the state’s ongoing conservation effort, the question becomes where do we put them? How do we help landowners open the gates?”

Recruit, Retain and Reactive (R3) Hunters in Texas

Panel Discussion moderated by Dreibelbis featuring Josh Crumpton, Spoke Hollow Outfitters Bryan Jones, Texas Youth Hunting Program John Mott, Any Kid Can Hunt Ranch

The panelists shared their experiences with mentored hunting, both youth and adult. While youth hunts generally require a larger support staff and focus on providing young people a “first-time connection” experience, the adult mentored hunts emphasize the post-harvest and food aspects of hunting. Adults, once they gain the confidence and skills, can immediately take to the field and become conservation advocates.

In their collective experience, the novice hunters need access to affordable, fairly priced hunts so they can continue to build their skills after their initial experiences.

Texas Outdoor Recreation Economy

John Sheppherd, Executive Director Texas Foundation for Conservation

Texas has become an urban state and the Texas Legislature’s composition reflects that reality.

“Face it, the vast majority of Texas legislators don’t value green spaces, pristine water and wildlife and fisheries resources like we do, so to get their attention we need to focus on the outdoor recreation economy.”

According to Sheppherd, one of TPWD’s main missions is economic development. The state’s outdoor recreation economy is estimated at $36 billion/year and is responsible for more than 327,000 direct jobs, more than the oil and gas industry.

The Great Outdoors: Not Just a Walk in the Park

Rodney Franklin, Division Director Texas State Parks

Demand for and use of Texas State Parks has been increasing over time but surged dramatically during the pandemic. This year’s park visitations are on pace to outstrip the record year of 2017; and because of repairs, temporary closures due to COVID, and transfers of historic sites to the Texas Historic Commission, the record-setting pace is occurring on fewer parks.

For the first time in 20 years, a new park is slated to open.

“Opening a park every 20 years is not going to meet the demand for the outdoors nor is it adequate to help make those crucial connections to nature that turn Texans into conservationists.”

Benefits Beyond Dollars: Why Landowners Open Their Gates

Panel Discussion moderated by Dr. Maureen Frank Assistant Wildlife Specialist, Texas A&M University, AgriLife Extension featuring Don Kirchoff Kirchoff Farms Kathy Mueller, McKenna Ranch Don Schaezler, Warbler Woods

Because keeping working lands working is an expensive proposition, landowners often open their gates to generate additional income, but keep them open for more intangible reasons.

Kirchoff Farms is a former row crop farm that has been converted back to native prairie and serves as an informal education center and preserve. McKenna Ranch, located near the entrance of the Devils River State Natural Area, is a Christian camp in June and the rest of the year offers cabins, activities and, in the fall, hunting. Warbler Woods is a birdcentric preserve that includes 41 of Texas’ 56 warbler species on its sighted list.

Different business models, different parts of the state and some lean, tight years in the operation, but they all persevere. Why?

As Kathy Mueller said, “I love our ranch, I love this hard, beautiful life--and I want to share what I love.”

Monetizing Outdoor Recreation Trends to Increase Revenue on Farms and Ranches

Panel Discussion moderated by Shelly Plante, Nature Tourism Manager, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department featuring Jimmy Dreiss, Flat Rock Ranch; Claire Barnhart, Barnhart Q5 Ranch and Nature Retreat; April Sansom, Selah/Bamberger Ranch Preserve

While hunting revenue is the primary reason that many people open their gates, other landowners have sought out additional income streams.

At Flat Rock Ranch near Comfort, the Dreiss family has installed 31 miles of mountain bike trails and host both bike and trail running races. The Barnhart family embarked on a 10-year plan to reclaim their ranch from the encroaching brush and now offers weekend getaways in three cabins marketed on Air BnB. J David Bamberger restored a ranch that he dubbed “Selah,” near Johnson City and over time has created a hub of conservation education for Austin and San Antonio school children and the general public.

Each of the operations started small. The owners learned as they went and changed their plans and offerings to meet evolving situations.

While the money earned from their endeavors helps fund their own conservation efforts, they are motivated by their opportunity to share their piece of the outdoors.

As Barnhart said of their ranch, “It is so beautiful and so peaceful that it is a shame to keep it just between us. We found we enjoyed it even more when people came to visit.”

Advertising Your Property: Online Marketing Opportunities

Panel Discussion moderated by TWA President Tom Vandivier featuring John Bostros, River Access and Conservation Areas Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Allison Ryan, Explore Ranches and Mason Smith, Hipcamp

Marketing the opportunities available on individual ranches can be a start-up challenge. As demand for the outdoors has increased so have businesses that specialize in connecting consumers to opportunities.

Explore Ranches, founded by three Texas multi-generation ranch owners, and Hipcamp are two such businesses. Explore Ranches offers curated, turnkey, private ranch experiences for families and small groups, while Hipcamp is a global listing service where landowners can offer everything from rustic dry camping to RVs sites and cabins. Since its founding in 2013, Hipcamp has gotten 3 million guests outdoors.

As a completely different strategy, TPWD operates a lease program for landowners who have river access in Texas. The goal is giving float fishermen and paddlers a safe, private place to put in and take out their watercrafts.

In each case, the businesses and organizations began to create additional income streams for landowners, provide additional access to wild places for the public and in doing so create the next generation of conservationists.

What’s My Liability? A Look at the Texas Recreational Use Statute

Brent Hamilton, Attorney, Brady and Hamilton LLP

The threat of liability keeps gates across Texas closed because “with access comes risk.” In the Lone Star State, two laws: the AgriTourism Act and the Texas Recreational Use Landowner Liability Act, offer protections for landowners engaging in the business of outdoor recreation.

To assure full protection, Hamilton suggested obtaining the liability insurance required, putting all of the necessary warnings in place along with collecting written waivers, so that the laws can be invoked if necessary.

To further protect themselves, landowners should find a trusted insurance agent and attorney to review their specific situation to ensure that they are covered to the full extent.