On August 3, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) acquired 2,850-acres in Stephens County. This property, which will become the Robbie Davis Wildlife Management Area (WMA), is a culmination of more than a decade of partnership between TPWD and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation (TPWF).
The WMA, located in the western Cross Timbers ecoregion of the state, will be operated as part of the Cross Timbers and Prairies Ecosystem Management Project within TPWD’s Wildlife Division. The property provides good examples of western Cross Timbers habitat, mostly dominated by post oak and live oak forests, with several ponds and seasonal wet-weather drainages, and rocky sandstone hillsides and bluffs. The acquisition will ensure long-term conservation of the habitats and the wildlife on the property.
In a private lands state, access to hunting lands is invaluable. The new WMA will be utilized as a public hunting site, providing opportunities for walk-in style dove hunting and drawn hunts for deer, turkey, and possibly waterfowl in a region where relatively little public hunting land currently exists.
“The new Robbie Davis WMA will go a long way to increase public hunting opportunities and support our hunting heritage that is part and parcel to Texas,” said Alan Cain, TPWD Wildlife Division Director. “Hunting has and always will be critical to the conservation of our native lands and wildlife.”
Being close to the metroplex, the WMA offers the public a chance to experience the natural beauty of the Cross Timber ecoregion.
When Stephens County ranch owner Robbie Davis passed away, she left her 2,850-acre family ranch to TPWF with the hope that it would one day benefit the people of Texas.
Since receiving the property in 2015, TPWF has partnered with TPWD and the Natural Resources Conservation Service to steward the land and invest in habitat restoration and management activities. Additionally, the Foundation has secured philanthropic support and prepared the ranch for its future as a public Wildlife Management Area.
“Robbie Davis entrusted her family’s ranch to Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation with the hope it would one day benefit all Texans,” said TPWF Executive Director Anne Brown. “It’s incredibly rewarding to see that vision fulfilled through this partnership with TPWD and the generosity of so many supporters.”
The new WMA will include the Dan Craine Unit, named in honor of former Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation Board member Dan Craine. The naming was made possible through a generous gift from the Cross Timbers Quail Coalition, along with contributions from Craine’s friends.
We’re especially grateful to the Cross Timbers Quail Coalition and Dan’s many friends for creating the Dan Craine Unit, added Brown, honoring a conservation leader whose legacy will live on through this special place. Long-term management plans include habitat improvements to benefit bobwhite quail and other grassland species.
“A lifelong conservation advocate and avid quail hunter, Dan has been a passionate supporter of wildlife habitat conservation across Texas,” said Brown. “This tribute recognizes his decades of leadership and ensures his conservation legacy will be permanently associated with a place dedicated to the wildlife and landscapes he has worked so hard to protect.”
TPWF sold the property to TPWD at 75 percent of its appraised value, with the remaining 25 percent representing a charitable contribution that helped make the acquisition possible. Sale proceeds will establish an endowment supporting habitat enhancement and management of Robbie Davis Wildlife Management Area and other Texas Parks and Wildlife Department WMAs.
“This project illustrates how private philanthropy and public conservation can work together to create lasting benefits for the wild things and wild places of Texas,” said Cain.
For more information about WMA’s managed by TPWD, visit: tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/hunt/wma/
Article source and photo credit: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
