Commission Agenda Item No. 7
Presenter:
Ted Hollingsworth
Action
Land Acquisition – Matagorda County
Approximately 6,554 Acres on Matagorda Peninsula
November 5, 2015
I. Executive Summary: The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has an opportunity to acquire approximately 6,554 acres with high fish and wildlife value on Matagorda Peninsula.
II. Discussion: East Matagorda Bay is separated from the rest of the Matagorda Bay system by the Colorado River delta. The bay is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by Matagorda peninsula, a narrow barrier peninsula that is remote and accessible only by water or by driving on the beach at low tide. It is also one of the least disturbed bays on the Texas Coast. There is a small community near the mouth of the river, but from there to the end of the peninsula at Brown Cedar Cut, 21 miles of beaches, dunes, lagoons, sloughs, flats and marshes provide important habitat for resident and migratory shorebirds, waterfowl, sea turtles, fin and shellfish and many other species.
The eastern two-thirds of the peninsula is primarily owned by the Texas General Land Office (GLO). The GLO holds 100 percent fee simple ownership of approximately 6.7 miles of the peninsula (3,525 acres), 98 percent or more of another 2.5 miles (1,576 acres) and at least 65 percent of another 2.5 miles (1,278 acres). Acquisition of this property for conservation has long been identified as a goal of TPWD and the coastal conservation community. The GLO has agreed to relinquish wind and groundwater rights, but oil and gas rights must be retained by the Permanent School Fund in accordance with Texas law.
The peninsula is part of a suite of coastal land conservation projects submitted to the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustees and the RESTORE Act Gulf Council for potential acquisition with oil spill settlement funds. Due to the remoteness of the property and the challenges of constructing infrastructure there, the property cannot be developed in the manner of a state park. As proposed, the Coastal Fisheries Division would assume responsibility for monitoring and managing the property.
II. Recommendation: The staff recommends the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission adopt the following motion:
"The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission authorizes the Executive Director to take all necessary steps to acquire approximately 6,554 acres on Matagorda Peninsula to manage for conservation of fish and wildlife."
Commission Agenda Item No. 7
Exhibit A
Location Map for Subject Tracts in Matagorda County
Commission Agenda Item No. 7
Exhibit B
Vicinity Map for Matagorda Peninsula
Commission Agenda Item No. 7
Exhibit C
Site Map for Acquisition Project Area
