Texas Land Trends

Texas A&M AgriLife maps out Texas’ working lands

A new set of visual representations by the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, NRI, shows the breadth and diversity of the state’s working lands for agricultural production as well as the statewide support provided by Texas A&M AgriLife.

Borderlands Bulletin features Texas Land Trends report on fragmentation risk

The Borderlands Research Institute recently featured the Texas Land Trends report in their newsletter Borderlands Bulletin.

New survey looks at land-use changes in Far West Texas

A new Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute report shows some interesting land-use changes over the past 20 years for 16 counties in Far West Texas.

New landowner report shows energy, growth trends in West Texas

The Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, or NRI, led a collaboration to develop a new report showing how changes in land use have influenced multiple counties in West Texas over the past two decades.

Some landowners diversify as Texas working land declines

The Big Bend Sentinel — Over a twenty-year period, Texas lost 2.2 million acres of working lands, with 1.2 million of those being converted to non-agricultural use in the last five years alone,  according to a new study of Texas land trends from 1997 to 2017 by Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute.

NRI publishes Status Update and Trends of Texas Working Lands 1997-2017

We are proud to present the long-awaited Texas Land Trends: Status Update and Trends of Texas Working Lands 1997 - 2017  published in December 2019. Texas Land Trends reports have informed private and public landowners and decision-makers for over two decades. With this report, we are able to examine new patterns and identify trends following the release of the Census of Agriculture datasets by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service’s (NASS). These datasets provide key information for complex Texas natural resource challenges through the power of a “good map.”  The Texas Land Trends:  Status Update and Trends report is the fifth iteration and specifically describes the status and recent changes in land values, ownership size and land use of privately-owned Texas working lands. 

Saving Working Lands Workshop Preps West Texas Landowners for Energy Development

On Nov. 14 at Sul Ross State University-Alpine, the Texas Agricultural Land Trust (TALT) and the Borderlands Research Institute (BRI) hosted a landowner workshop to address issues related to burgeoning energy development in West Texas.

New report shows changes in Texas borderlands over time

The Madisonville Meteor—Changes in population density, rapid urbanization and rising land values have altered much of the historically rural landscape of the Texas borderlands, according to a recent Texas Land Trends report. 

New Texas Land Trends report shows changes in Texas borderlands over time

New Land Trends report covers trends in land ownership along borderlands and addresses population growth, land ownership and fragmentation.

Texas Land Trends releases key findings from upcoming 5 year report

The summary report of the 2019 Texas Land Trends report describes key findings of recent changes in topics such as land use, ownership size and property values of private working lands from 1997 to 2017. 

Three Texas Takeaways From The Latest Agriculture Census

TEXAS STANDARD — Roel Lopez on the 2017 data reflecting a changing Texas when it comes to farming and ranching.

Texas Land Trends report shows value of conservation easements to ag, water, wildlife

NORTH TEXAS NEWS — The Texas Land Trends project of Texas A&M’s Natural Resources Institute, or NRI, has published a special series report describing Texas landowner participation in land conservation easements and their value to agricultural production, water and wildlife.

Texas Land Trends report shows value of conservation easements to ag, water, wildlife

AGRILIFE TODAY — The Texas Land Trends project of Texas A&M’s Natural Resources Institute, or NRI, has published a special series report describing Texas landowner participation in land conservation easements and their value to agricultural production, water and wildlife.

NRI releases first Conservation Easements in Texas publication

This special series report describes the state’s current participation and growing need for land conservation easements. In this report we assess the value of all conservation easement acres in Texas within three broad categories of ecosystem services to describe the significant impact these lands have on the state's economy.

Texas Land Trends Spotted in the San Antonio Express-News

"...according to the Texas A&M Texas Land Trends study, we are losing our agricultural lands at one of the fastest rates in the country."

TWA: The Massive Urban-Rural Imbalance in Texas

David Yeates, Texas Wildlife Association Chief Executive Officer, speaks on how Texas Land Trends data reveals the challenge that is: far too few urban Texans, including Legislators, have a sense of relevancy to our natural resources and their importance.

Texas Land Trends report shows changes in rural working lands, operators

Fragmentation of rural working lands, an increasing population and changes in landowner age, residency, land-use preferences and other factors are addressed in the new Texas Landowner Changes and Trends report.

Wildlife appraisal practices workshop offered for property tax professionals

A workshop to help property tax appraisers learn wildlife appraisal practices will be held from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Kerr Wildlife Management Area, 2625 Farm-to-Market Road, Hunt.

Texas Land Trends tracks a changing state

Is Texas a rural state? Yes. Eighty-three percent of the state’s lands are farms, ranches and forests. But it’s also an urban state. Eighty-six percent of Texans live in urban areas.

Texas A&M institute offers new land-use trend Web tool

The Texas A&M Institute of Renewable Natural Resources has recently added a new interactive Web tool to its Texas Land Trends website, http://txlandtrends.org, allowing users to access land-use information released in 2014, according to an institute official

The Land Steward Podcast: Origin Stories

A Natural Infrastructure Plan for the Hill Country

The Texas Hill Country Conservation Network is proud to release the Hill Country Land, Water, Sky, and Natural Infrastructure Plan. This plan includes a shared vision for the Hill Country, collaboratively developed infographics, and objectives & strategies for achieving the Plan’s vision. 

Results of statewide landowner survey published

AgriLife Today — The stewards of Texas’ working lands have spoken. The data collected by the survey aids natural resource agencies in developing and implementing educational resources and programming to benefit landowners and the landscapes they steward. 

Read the Statewide Texas Landowner Survey results

Researchers from the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute (NRI), in collaboration with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and agricultural and natural resource professionals distributed the survey to better understand rural landowners and their land management objectives, challenges, concerns, and preferences.

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. 

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.

Announcing the new statewide assessment: Putting a dollar amount to Texas ecosystem services

Promoting the long-term sustainability and stewardship of natural resources begins with a basic understanding of ecosystem services and their public benefits. Ideally, the ability to assign monetary value can illustrate the importance of their fundamental contributions to society. An analysis like this can serve to support land conservation strategies and policies to promote the conservation of open spaces and natural resources.

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. 

What is a Conservation Easement?

As open space land in Texas is constantly changing and repurposed to support our growing populations and urban areas, have you ever wondered what would happen if land wasn't so easily fragmented? What if the private land you own or have spent time on stayed as it is forever?

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. 

NRI releases Texas water survey for all Texans

The Texas Water Survey was developed to determine daily use and management of water resources across Texas, in addition to challenges, concerns and water recreation experiences. 

TxMAP: A new way to map with conservation data

Creating your individualized, conservation-minded map of Texas just became the bee's knees.

Return on Investment: How putting a dollar figure on the value of conserved lands can help save more of them

The fall issue of the Land Trust Alliance Saving Land magazine highlights recent grants to land trusts for remote monitoring projects, transformative partnerships between land trusts and Indigenous groups and NRI's work to define the economic value of protected lands.

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.

Reboot: The Texas Land Trends Data Explorer

Under the Texas Land Trends project, informative reports have been developed over the years to empower public and private decision-makers with the information needed to plan for the conservation of vital working lands. Public usability and access to this report data has been a cornerstone of this long-standing effort, promoting the creation of the Data Explorer tool, which was first launched in 2015.

Fall 2020 Sourcebook: Volume 1, Issue 2

The Fall 2020 NRI Sourcebook (V1:I2) is here, a digital collection complete with the recently published peer-reviewed scientific publications, research reports, and resources developed to support the improvement of conservation, natural resource management and private land stewardship.

13,500 minutes of the Texas Early Notification Tool

It’s been one year since TENT was launched and more than 450 30-minute sessions have been conducted by industry leaders, community stakeholders and military planners working collaboratively and proactively to avoid conflict.

A new perspective on Texas phenology

In our latest featured map, we took satellite imagery collected throughout 2019 and stitched them together in an animation to illustrate the phenological changes of vegetation across Texas.

A growing Texas means loss of working lands

From 1997-2017, Texas lost about 2.2 million acres of working lands.

Beyond the fence line with Texas Ag Land Trust

Listen in on Texas Ag Land Trust's latest podcast as TALT CEO Chad Ellis and NRI's Dr. Lopez delve into key land trend findings and what they mean for Texas’ working lands.

A Look at Texas Agriculture and the Texas A&M AgriLife Support Network

Texans will agree that you could never experience the full breadth of the state in one lifetime. It’s easy to identify the unique characteristics sprinkled throughout, ranging from the population composition and cultures, the native flora and fauna, and the spectacular river systems like the Red River in the north and the Rio Grande in the south. In true Texas form, you will also find a range of agricultural production strategies varying by regional differences in climate and landscape. At the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, we tell the story of our state’s privately-owned farms, ranches, and forests, otherwise known as working lands, which provide numerous ecological, economic and intrinsic benefits to our communities and beyond.

Summer 2020 Sourcebook: Volume 1, Issue 1

The Summer 2020 NRI Sourcebook (V1:I1) is here, a digital collection complete with the recently published peer-reviewed scientific publications, research reports, and resources developed to support the improvement of conservation, natural resource management and private land stewardship.

Featured Map: Fragmentation Risk Index

How we, as collective stakeholders in the state, balance our needs and the challenges from land-use changes will influence future outcomes for Texas’ open spaces. Where do we start?

New West Texas Landowner Report serves to conserve the future of west Texas landscapes

Developed in partnership with Texas Agricultural Land Trust and the Borderlands Research Institute with funding by the Cynthia & George Mitchell Foundation, the West Texas Landowner Report serves to compile information that can serve to better inform key partners and organizations working to conserve and shape the future of West Texas.

Some landowners diversify as Texas working land declines

The Big Bend Sentinel — Over a twenty-year period, Texas lost 2.2 million acres of working lands, with 1.2 million of those being converted to non-agricultural use in the last five years alone,  according to a new study of Texas land trends from 1997 to 2017 by Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute.

NRI publishes Status Update and Trends of Texas Working Lands 1997-2017

We are proud to present the long-awaited Texas Land Trends: Status Update and Trends of Texas Working Lands 1997 - 2017  published in December 2019. Texas Land Trends reports have informed private and public landowners and decision-makers for over two decades. With this report, we are able to examine new patterns and identify trends following the release of the Census of Agriculture datasets by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service’s (NASS). These datasets provide key information for complex Texas natural resource challenges through the power of a “good map.”  The Texas Land Trends:  Status Update and Trends report is the fifth iteration and specifically describes the status and recent changes in land values, ownership size and land use of privately-owned Texas working lands. 

Map of the Month: Night Lights of Texas

Through our Texas Land Trends project, we have been tracking and telling the story of rural land use changes and trends across the state for the past few decades. Using remotely sensed data, we can better illustrate these changes; especially those related to urban and energy industry growth.

Map of the Month: Trends along Texas Borderlands

Recognizing our knack and appreciation for picking up true courses happening across Texas, we selected this month’s featured map from our latest Texas Land Trends publication Trends in Land Ownership Along Texas Borderlands 

Texas Land Trends meets Real Estate

Earlier this year, NRI was invited by the the San Antonio Board of REALTORS® (SABOR) Farm and Land Committee to present the story behind Texas Land Trends: How and Why Texas is Changing.

The value of conservation easements: An interview with Roel Lopez

Listen to Dr. Roel Lopez and Blair Fitzsimons, CEO of Texas Agricultural Land Trust, provide clarity on the importance of conservation easements in Texas from ensuring the public benefits remain available to helping future generations through the actions we can take now. 

Map of the Month: Conservation Easements in Texas

Our latest Texas Land Trends report examines conservation easements, an important tool that can complement both landowner and public needs by supporting rural economies, creating recreational opportunities. and providing intrinsic benefits.

Map of the Month: Freshwater Mussels: Key Indicators of Ecosystem Health

Freshwater mussels play an important role in the health of freshwater ecosystems by providing food and habitat for other aquatic species, stabilizing stream bottoms, and filtering the water in our lakes and rivers. The Rio Grande basin is home to three mussel species suffering from habitat loss and growing human populations in this area may be threatening the water systems necessary for their survival.

Map of the Month: Bright lights and big cities: urban growth in Texas

From scattered rural settlements to big cities, the density and distribution of people in Texas has changed dramatically over time. As "urban sprawl" continues to increase development in the outlying areas around cities, it will affect the resources, amenities, and job opportunities for the people who live there.

Map of the Month: Wind Energy in Texas

Texas is the largest wind energy producing state in the U.S. As the wind energy industry continues to expand, challenges of compatibility with other national priorities continue to be a consideration—including military training. 

A Story Map: Habitat Requirements of Texas Quails

A Texas Land Trends Story Map: Texas is home to four species of quails: Northern Bobwhite, Scaled Quail, Gambel’s Quail, and Montezuma Quail. Many Texans fondly recall experiences with quail, whether they were hunting or watching them, or just listening to their songs. Despite the interest in these quail species, their overall abundance, especially northern bobwhites, have declined over the past few decades. Recent research efforts seek to determine what factors have and continue to contribute to the decline of quail in Texas. 

Map of the Month: Intergenerational Land Transfers on the Horizon

Our latest Texas Land Trends report examines Texas’ changing and aging landowners and potentially the largest intergenerational land transfer in its history.

Map of the Month: A Look Back in Texas History

September’s Map of the Month blog highlights one of the maps from the East Foundation's book, Horses to Ride, Cattle to Cut: The San Antonio Viejo Ranch of Texas.

Map of the Month: Wildlife management land use acres

While ag tax evaluations traditionally involve practices such as haying, cropping, grazing and livestock, the state added a wildlife management use component in 1995. This non-traditional approach to preserving open space lands and their values has gained momentum in the past two decades, as the total number of acres enrolled has risen from 93K in 1997 to 3.2M in 2012. So how do you qualify and what is the process to switch from a traditional ag use property to wildlife management use? 

Learn how to use the Texas Land Trends data tool

Texas' working and rural lands are undergoing fundamental changes due to fragmentation and conversion, according to experts at the Texas A&M Institute of Renewable Natural Resources (IRNR).

Texas Farm and Ranch Lands Conservation Program funds first round of grants at $1.4 million

To help bring more than 14,300 acres of the state’s high-value working farm and ranch lands under long-term protection, the Texas Farm and Ranch Lands Conservation Council has approved land trust funding totaling $1.4 million for a wide array of conservation easements, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD).