Hikers at Palo Duro Canyon State Park.
Prints and Photographs Collection #1991/77-601-04.
Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State
Library and Archives.
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As it moved through the last of the 20th century and into the
21st, TPWD confronted a very different recreational environment
than the one that had given birth to the Texas State Parks Board
back in 1923. The original vision of wayside parks had given way
to a far-flung system of historic sites, scenic areas, and rugged
natural areas. The clientele had expanded from auto travelers
to include hikers, campers, canoeists, photographers, birdwatchers,
climbers, and those looking for a good place to run a jetski or
an ATV.
Technology fueled an enormous demand from the public for wilderness
experiences. Ordinary people could now buy kayaks, backpacks,
sleeping bags, tents, hiking shoes, and dried food that adventurers
of the past could only have envied. And they could ride into the
wilderness on paved highways in SUVs, armed with information—downloaded
from the Internet—that once would have taken a lifetime
of experience to accumulate. As these changes accelerated, some
said that both state and national parks were in danger of being
“loved to death.”
The Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon National Park provides a case in point. Between 1869
and 1940, a total of 73 people rafted through the canyon. By 1952,
the number had risen but still stood at a total of 19 for the entire
year. Today, the number stands at 20,000 annually, most on commercial
float trips. Individuals who wish to paddle the river on their own
must go on a waiting list of an astonishing 20 years for a permit
to be issued.
In 1972, TPWD began rehabilitation of a 19th century
rail line between Rusk and Palestine to showcase the history
and romance of steam locomotives. The Texas State Railroad
State Historic Park opened in 1976. Today, the train's operation
is threatened by severe budget constraints. It has become
a symbol of the distressed conditions faced by Texas state
parks in the 21st century.
Texas State Railroad press kit, 1978-79. Texas Parks
& Wildlife
Records, Archives and Information Services Division, Texas
State Library and Archives Commission.
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Like the national parks, Texas parks faced soaring popularity
that ran headlong into a governmental era that asked state agencies
to do more with less. In the 1980s, TPWD, still riding the cigarette-tax
train, continued to open new parks, including Guadalupe River,
Brazos Bend, and Enchanted Rock. Matagorda Island and Choke Canyon
were developed jointly as both parks and wildlife management areas.
In 1988, the department doubled state park acreage in Texas with
the purchase of Big Bend Ranch in Brewster and Presidio counties,
a longhorn cattle range of 215,000 acres. The ranch, a rugged
landscape of canyons, extinct volcanoes, and remote waterfalls,
was opened to the public in 1991.
But the revenue generated by the cigarette tax was on the decline.
In 1993, the legislature earmarked a portion of the sales tax
from the sale of sporting goods, and dedicated up to $32 million
a year of this earmark to parks. The public breathed a sigh of
relief. In their minds, the parks funding crisis was solved. But
in practice, only a portion of the revenue was actually spent
on parks projects (about $21 million annually), with the rest
of the money from the sporting goods tax—almost $100 million—used
to pay for other state services. This practice would continue
for more than a decade. In addition, millions of dollars in bonds
were overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2001 to raise money
for parks. The bond issue generated over $50 million for park
repairs, while an additional $47 million remained unissued.
The fate of Big Bend Ranch became illustrative of the issues facing
Texas state parks in the 21st century. In 2005, TPWD proposed
to sell part of Big Bend Ranch to a private developer to be turned
into a resort. Public outrage stopped the sale but brought to
public attention the depth of the funding crisis at Texas state
parks.
Today, Texas state parks face aging infrastructure, staff shortages,
and reduced hours. In 2006, the condition of Texas state parks
became a major issue in the governor’s race, and it promised
to be controversial and emotional in the legislative sessions
to come.
Back to Introduction>>
Wildlife Conservation
Today
TPWD now employs more than 500 game wardens. Law enforcement projects
in recent times have included major operations to stop poaching
of deer, turkey, alligator, and fish. With the shortage of public
land in Texas, TPWD instituted a program known as Type II Wildlife
Management Areas. These consist of large tracts of land that are
leased from private owners, rather than owned by the state, and
managed for hunting. The department continues to develop more programs
to train and reward landowners willing to protect rare species.
Fishing is more popular than ever in Texas, with bass fishing attracting
record numbers of participants. A major push of TPWD in recent years
has been the catch-and-release concept, in which participants fish
purely for fun and let the fish go back in the water after being
caught. This practice strives to promote conservation and avoid
overfishing of mature lakes, along with length, bag, and possession
limits, but it is controversial.
Water remains an overarching priority for 21st century Texas. From
a population of 3 million in 1900, Texas now has more than 22 million
inhabitants. The demands of urban populations and agricultural irrigation
have caused many Texas rivers to go dry much of the year. Out of
more than 280 principal springs that Texas once had, more than 60
have run dry. Aquifers that took thousands of years to form are
reaching the end of their useful life.
In 1986, the water protection functions of TPWD were spun out of
the Fisheries Division and became part of a new division, Resource
Protection. The legislation creating this division greatly increased
TPWD authority over the management of Texas estuaries, making them
a major player as the state works on a comprehensive approach to
managing its water resources.
As TPWD moved through the last years of the 20th century and into
the 21st, the agency confronted a different environment than the
one that had spawned the Texas Game & Fish Commission back in
1907. Policies crafted to involve landowners in wildlife recovery
have stood the test of time in rural Texas, but now urban areas
are sprawling out into the former countryside, with unpredictable
consequences. As new country dwellers subdivide old ranches, habitat
is lost, and wild animals come into conflict with their new neighbors.
Society itself and its attitudes toward wildlife, parks, and the
environment are ever-changing. A century ago, conservationists like
John Muir and sportsmen like Theodore Roosevelt were brought together
by an appreciation of nature’s beauty. Today’s environmental
movement is motivated by a scarier thought: that the earth itself
is in jeopardy and with it mankind’s ability to survive. In
the end, TPWD will change as Texans change and decide how to meet
the challenges of the 21st century.
