Co-ops:
Texas population has boomed, rising from just 3 million in 1900, to 26 million currently. During the same period, its people have shifted from being 20% to 88% urban.
This larger and denser population has been reflected in the break-up of the big ranches and farms that Texas was long famous for. In fact, the median size of a sold tract in the Dallas/Houston/San Antonio triangle dropped nearly 60% from 1966 to 2012.
With more landowners and smaller parcel sizes in Texas, the need to coordinate land management has become more clear. To answer this call, Texas Parks and Wildlife has supported and guided development of wildlife management associations to help neighbors work together to improve local habitat. These organizations, also known as co-ops, now number more than 185, and control 2.5 million acres.
Audio:
Al Brothers, a landowner and wildlife biologist, explains the importance of wildlife cooperatives.
Map source:
Burch, Cristy. 2013. GIS/TWIMS Specialist, Texas Parks and Wildlife. Personal communication, April and May.
Selected reference:
Wagner, Matt. 2005. Wildlife and Water: Collective Action and Social Capital of Selected Landowner Associations in Texas.” Ph.D. dissertation. Texas A&M University.