NRI publishes Status Update and Trends of Texas Working Lands 1997-2022
The new Texas Land Trends program report Status Update and Trends of Texas Working Lands 1997–2022 celebrates over two decades of applied research and extension outreach at the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute (NRI). Since its inception, the program is an important resource in understanding the complex landscapes of Texas’ working lands—farms, ranches, and forests increasingly threatened by rapid population growth.
Read Article
Farm and ranch lands program safeguards millions in water conservation, flood prevention and ag productivity
NRI released the 2024 evaluation report today for the Texas Farm and Ranch Lands Conservation Program (TFRLCP) publishing key findings to support the program’s efforts to help safeguard the public benefits derived from working lands.
Read Article
NRI Scientists Mentor Youth in the Norman Borlaug Youth in Agriculture Program
Because we are uniquely positioned to speak on land trend issues, we seek to share our expertise about critical natural resource issues with all Texans. Most recently, we had the chance to mentor some of our future leaders and on how they can work together to improve Texas lands from their own hometowns.
Read Article
Featured Map: Out of this world imagery for natural resources management
What do natural resources professionals have in common with rocket scientists? More than you might think. Spacecraft-based cameras that orbit the globe have been providing images that guide natural resource management for decades.
Read Article
Investing in Conservation: Quantifying ecological return on investment
Conserving Texas: Quantifying Ecological Return on Investment was developed to better understand the current benefits and needs for financial investment in our state's natural resources to best support our growing state population, the stewards of the land, our thriving economy, and healthy landscapes.
Read Article
San Antonio Rodeo Seminar Recap
Our director, Dr. Roel Lopez, recently had the pleasure of speaking at the Wildlife and Natural Resources Seminar at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo.
Read Article
Featured Map: What satellites tell us about drought in Texas
Scientists employ various methods, models and data to track weather patterns, including drought – a condition closely monitored by Texans, especially those involved in agriculture and natural resources.
Read Article
Featured Map: Cattle trails to Texas highways
Depicting their latest discovery, the Texas Land Trends team developed a new map series featuring the original Texas cattle trails to show how the historical cattle drive routes and supply posts have evolved into major highways and urban centers today.
Read Article
TxMAP: A new way to map with conservation data
Creating your individualized, conservation-minded map of Texas just became the bee's knees.
Read Article
Featured Map: Land ownership types across the U.S.
Working lands, whether private or publicly owned, provide substantial economic, ecological, and recreational resources across the U.S. Here in Texas, we often boast of being a “private land state”, meaning the majority of the land (~95%) is held in private ownership. Many may wonder how this came to be and if other states fall under similar ownership patterns. For this new Featured Map, we briefly explore the history of land settlement across the nation and demonstrate the unique ownership landscape that exists today.
Read Article