Commission Agenda Item No. 6
Presenter: Ted Hollingsworth

Action
Disposition of Land – Harrison County
Approximately 7 Acres at the Caddo Lake Wildlife Management Area
March 25, 2021

I.      Executive Summary: The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) staff will brief the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission (Commission) on a proposal intended to simplify management and reduce boundary conflicts, including trespass, at Caddo Lake Wildlife Management Area (WMA).

II.     Discussion: Caddo Lake is a natural lake currently covering approximately 26,810 acres. In the 1930s, Caddo Lake State Park was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps on the south shore of the lake. Acquisition of land on the north shore began in 1992, and the WMA was created in 1997. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has been instrumental in acquiring much of the property which makes up the WMA, which today covers almost 8,900 acres of cypress swamps, bayous, marshes, open water, bottomland forest, and uplands.

One tract added to the WMA in the early 1990s was the residue of the “Cypress Village” subdivision, which consists of a large number of small lots, each a fraction of an acre. Most of the lots are privately owned, but a number of them were added to the WMA, resulting in a convoluted boundary which is difficult to monitor and manage in places. Boundary disagreements, encroachment, trespass, and incompatible land uses have consumed inordinate amounts of staff time in the past. The staff believes that the sale of problematic lots within Cypress Village would simplify the WMA boundary and reduce neighbor conflicts. The Cypress Village tract was added to the WMA to expand habitat and to improve access to existing units of the WMA. The lots proposed for disposition are not serving the purpose for which they were acquired.

III.   Recommendation: The staff recommends the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission adopt the following motion:

“The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission adopts the Resolution attached as
  Exhibit A.”

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Commission Agenda Item No. 6
Exhibit A

A Resolution by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission Regarding the
Disposition of Approximately 7 Acres of Real Property at the Caddo Lake
Wildlife Management Area in Harrison County

Resolution

     Whereas, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) owns and operates the 8,879-acre Caddo Lake Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Marion and Harrison counties, acquired in the 1990s to conserve cypress swamps, bayous, marshes, open water, bottomland forest, and uplands; and,

     Whereas, a number of tracts of land have been added to the WMA over time, including the residue of the Cypress Village subdivision (Cypress Village); and,

     Whereas, Cypress Village consists of small individual lots, most of which are a fraction of an acre in size, and most of which are privately owned; and,

     Whereas, some of the Cypress Village lots contribute to the operation of the WMA by providing access from public roads into units of the WMA, while other lots serve no operational or conservation function for the mission of the WMA and are a liability due to boundary and trespass issues; and,

     Whereas, staff believes that sale of seventeen of the Cypress Village lots totaling an estimated 7 acres (the Land) would simplify WMA boundaries and significantly reduce conflicts with adjacent landowners and the associated consumption of staff time and energy; and,

     Whereas, the Land is not serving the purposes for which it was acquired and is more of a liability than an asset to TPWD, and the staff recommends that the Land be sold, with the sale proceeds applied to strategic land acquisitions; and,

     Whereas, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission (Commission) finds that as required by Texas Parks and Wildlife Code (PWC) chapter 26, notices of today’s hearing of this matter were published at least once a week for three consecutive weeks in newspapers of general circulation which are published at least six days a week in the communities nearest to the WMA in which such newspapers are published (The Marshall News Messenger in Harrison County), with the last day of publication being not less than one week or more than two weeks before the date of today’s hearing; and,

     Whereas, the Commission finds that the Land is not serving the purposes for which it was acquired and that continued ownership of the Land is no longer consistent with the TPWD mission; and,

     Whereas, the sale of the Land will enhance operation and management of the WMA and provide land sale proceeds to help acquire strategic conservation lands that will serve the TPWD mission; and,

     Whereas, the Commission affirms that it has the authority to sell the Land in accordance with PWC section 13.009;

     Now, therefore, the Commission authorizes the TPWD Executive Director to take all necessary steps to sell approximately 7 acres of land within the Caddo Lake WMA in Harrison County subject to the purposes and subject to the conditions described herein and in the motion approved in this Resolution.

     Adopted and approved this 25th day of March, 2021.

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Commission Agenda Item No. 6
Exhibit B

Location Map of Caddo Lake Wildlife Management Area in
Marion and Harrison Counties

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Commission Agenda Item No. 6
Exhibit C

Vicinity Map for Caddo Lake Wildlife Management Area (WMA),
15 Miles Northeast of Marshall

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Commission Agenda Item No. 6
Exhibit D

Site Map of Caddo Lake Wildlife Management Area (WMA)
Location of Cypress Village Within Red Box

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Commission Agenda Item No. 6
Exhibit E

Site Map Showing Cypress Village with Proposed Divestiture Tracts