There’s no polite way to put it — Texas has a lousy state parks system. Sure, there are some beautiful parks, and some of them are magnificent. There just aren’t enough of them. And the parks that we do have are either too crowded, poorly maintained, or both. Texas ranks 48th out of the 50 states in per capita spending on parks. While other states spend an average of $17.31 per person on parks, Texas spends just $3.51, according to U.S. Census data. Texas also lags behind other states in park acreage, ranking 25th among the 50 states in acres of parkland per capita. If you eliminate the huge but little-used Big Bend State Ranch, we fall to 36th.
The paucity of parkland hasn’t been a high-profile issue among Texas politicians. But a new initiative called the Texas Our Texas Heritage Program hopes to make parks and open space acquisition a major issue during the next session of the Texas Legislature. Announced during a kickoff reception last Thursday night, the TOTHP’s plan is bold: pass measures that will allow the state to spend $1 billion over the next 10 years to acquire parks and open space.
Other big states have already launched similar efforts. Florida is in the midst of a $3 billion land acquisition program designed to preserve open space and wildlands. Over the next 10 years, New Jersey will spend $1 billion to buy farmland, parks and watershed lands. New York is spending $1.75 billion on a variety of environmental programs including watershed acquisition.
“Texas is the fastest-growing major state, and we are losing valuable natural and cultural heritage daily. Our future, for all of us and our children, depends on protecting the best of what is left in Texas,” says Ted Siff, government affairs director at the Trust for Public Land‘s Texas office. TPL is one of several organizations which are supporting the land acquisition program.
Siff and the other members of the TOTHP are hoping to raise $1 million over the next two years to help convince the Legislature and others that the open-space initiative is worth pursuing. Although no one aligned with the TOTHP is certain how it will develop, the group is planning to ask the Legislature for part of the $1 billion. TOTHP will seek the balance of the money through a bond initiative that will go to voters in a referendum.
The Legislature may be ready for the message TOTHP is promoting. During the last session, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. got an additional $37 million for the biennium, the biggest revenue increase in the agency’s history. The agency will spend nearly half of that money on land purchases and tourism-related projects. The rest will be spent on new staff, repairing facilities at state parks, and supporting local park projects.
Voters appear to support the idea of more parks and open space. A poll done in March for the TOTHP found that 69% of the 663 registered voters surveyed said they would pay a dollar or more per month in taxes to protect the state’s natural areas. But while voters appear to be supportive of conservation programs, it will take leadership to make the $1 billion acquisition plan a reality.
This article appears in September 10 • 1999.