Land News | Texas Land for Sale (PTR)

Wildlife Cooperatives Can Improve Land Values

Texas Wildlife Co-ops

Wildlife Cooperatives really can be of great importance when looking for a ranch, especially when searching for smaller tracts. On smaller properties where many management practices are not feasible or on properties where landowners do not have enough land to manage for the wildlife they are interested in (i.e. white-tailed deer), wildlife cooperatives are an excellent alternative.

Landowners, joined together with common objectives and goals, can manage wildlife habitat on a much larger scale than they could independently. Communication is the key to developing and maintaining effective cooperatives.

What is Wildlife and Habitat Management

Wildlife and habitat management

Wildlife have four basic needs; food, water, cover, and space. The arrangement of these elements is often equally important. Each species of wildlife has its own specific habitat needs for reproduction and survival. If one of these components is missing, that is the limiting factor for that species.

It is the availability, arrangement, and ratio of these habitat elements on the landscape and influence of proper management that will determine the amount of wildlife (number of species and population of each species) on the property.

This is referred to as the carrying capacity. Since many wildlife species often share habitat types, most common habitat management practices will benefit a number of wildlife species.

Challenges Facing Rural Texas Land

The face of Rural Texas is changing. The size of private farms and ranches has decreased dramatically over the past few decades. Today, 80 percent of Texas’ private land holdings are less than 500 acres.

Many of these properties are now owned by absentee landowners or are being subdivided for mobile home parks, high dollar “ranchettes”, rural housing and industrial developments. Congestion in the cities and metroplexes has increased “urban sprawl.” With a strong economy and increased resources, many people are leaving the urban environment to commute to the country for a taste of country life. Land use on these properties is also changing. Continue reading Challenges Facing Rural Texas Land