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In 1993, the 73rd Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 179, requiring the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to establish a classification system for the state park system and to expand opportunities for "recreational hunting," when appropriate, on Department lands. Prior to SB 179, state law allowed hunting in state parks, natural areas, wildlife management areas and other lands only as a biological tool to solve wildlife over-population problems. With SB 179, the state has shifted its position to one that allows hunting unless the Texas Parks and Wildlife shows that it will damage natural resources. The Sierra Club and Audubon Society opposed SB 179, contending that it is reasonable to restrict some public lands for recreational use.
In 1993, prior to the enactment of SB 179, Texas hunters had access to more than 1 million acres of state public lands (controlled hunting on wildlife management acreage), 2 million acres of federal lands and 130 million acres of private lands.(27)
Opening the Texas State Park System's 500,000 acres (parks and natural areas) to hunting would increase total huntable acreage by 0.32 percent.
Source: Information presented September, 1993 by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department staff to the Parks Advisory Board of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission.
| CONSERVATION/PRESERVATION: WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? |
|---|
| "Conservation: The maintenance of environmental quality and resources or a particular balance among the species present in a given area. The resources may be physical (e.g. fossil fuels), biological (e.g. tropical forest) or cul-tural (e.g. ancient monuments). In modern scientific usage conservation implies sound biosphere management within given social and economic contraints, producing goods and services for humans without depleting natural ecosystem diversity, and acknowledging the naturally dynamic character of biological systems. This contrasts with the preservationist approach which, it is argued, protects species or landscapes without reference to natural change in living systems or to human requirements."
Source: Michael Allaby, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ecology (Oxford University Press, 1994), 92. |
Texas beaches are among the most popular areas of the state. By the year 2000, 5.3 million people are projected to live in Texas coastal counties. Between 1970 and 1989, Texas ranked fifth in the nation in coastal hotel and recreational construction, and in that same period it was one of the ten leading states in coastal residential construction.(28)
The growing coastal population, increased recreational activities, and economic and land development on the Texas coast have placed additional pressures on the natural resources of the area.
Bills Related to Coastal Matters:
Since 1990, as part of the process of developing a Texas Coastal Management Plan, the Texas General Land Office has held a series of public meetings. In public hearings held in coastal communities, residents identified public beach access, dune protection and shoreline erosion as three of the most critical issues that the Texas Coastal Management Program should address.
Since l958, with the enactment of the Texas Open Beaches Act, the public has been "guaranteed" the right of access and use of Texas beaches. Of the 367 miles of coastal beaches, 293 miles are open for public use. Of these 293 miles, only 173 miles are considered accessible to the public. Accessible is defined as "accessible by driving along the shore or by walking no more than one mile from a point that can be reached by a two-wheel-drive vehicle."(29) Public access to beaches varies greatly from one end of the coast to the other. Some communities provide more public entrances than others, and in some areas residential and commercial development prevent easy access to the shoreline. Natural resource planners must consider that increased beach access may also increase the public use of beaches and, in turn, adversely effect dunes and other natural resources.
Recreational users of Texas beaches encounter literally hundreds of thousands of pounds of trash. During the 1992 National Coastal Cleanup, a volunteer program sponsored by the Texas General Land Office, 175.5 tons of debris were collected on a 166 mile stretch of beaches, and during the 1993 cleanup 155.7 tons of garbage were removed. Since 1987, when the coastal cleanup began, 2,127 tons of trash have been removed from approximately 180 miles of beaches. According to the General Land Office, 70 percent of the garbage found on our coastal beaches is dumped from ships traveling the Gulf of Mexico.(30)
| TEXAS' 1992 DIRTY DOZEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL REPORTED | PERCENT OF TOTAL COLLECTED | ||
| 1. | Plastic pieces | 47,392 | 10.01% |
| 2. | Plastic caps/lids | 28,593 | 6.04% |
| 3. | Cigarette butts | 25,161 | 5.31% |
| 4. | Plastic food bags/ wrappers | 24,891 | 5.26% |
| 5. | Plastic rope | 22,813 | 4.82% |
| 6. | Foam plastic pieces | 19,775 | 4.17% |
| 7. | Metal beverage cans | 17,466 | 3.69% |
| 8. | Glass beverage bottles | 16,185 | 3.42% |
| 9. | Plastic beverage bottles | 13,136 | 2.77% |
| 10. | Misc. plastic bags | 13,030 | 2.75% |
| 11. | Paper pieces | 12,267 | 2.59% |
| 12. | Glass pieces | 12,052 | 2.54% |
Source: Center for Marine Conservation, 1992, "National Coastal Cleanup Results," Texas Coastal Management Plan Preliminary Draft, December, 1993.
The Coastal Management Plan required coastal counties and municipalities to develop dune-protection and beach access plans and submit them to the General Land Office by August 1993. Coastal dunes serve several valuable functions: 1) protecting inland areas from storms and flooding; 2) holding sand that can replenish that lost to erosion; and 3) serving as habitat to wildlife.(31) Because there have been no base-line studies, the extent of dune loss over time is unknown.
More than 27,000 acres of Gulf shoreline were lost to erosion from the mid-1800s to 1982.(32) Coastal erosion can damage or destroy both private and public property, damage the economies of our coastal communities and devastate Texas beaches. At least 100 acres of beach front and 300 acres of bay front are lost annually, and 60 percent of the Texas shoreline is vulnerable to erosion.(33) According to studies, two-thirds of Texas' bay shores are eroding at rates of two to nine feet per year.(34) Erosion rates do vary. For example, shoreline changes of nearly 13 feet/year occur at Packery Channel on North Padre Island and up to seven feet/year at South Padre Island.(35) The average long term rate is about 225 acres per year.(36) As the lead agency for coastal matters, the Texas General Land Office was designated by the 72nd Legislature to develop a coastwide erosion avoidance and remediation plan relying on public participation. Once completed, the plan will be sent to the Legislature for approval.
The MARPOL Treaty, an international agreement that regulates marine pollution around the world, contains five annexes, each of which regulates a type of pollution. Annex V has regulations for the prevention of pollution by garbage and specifically prohibits the dumping of plastics in the world's oceans. The Wider Caribbean Region (which includes the Gulf of Mexico) has been designated by the International Maritime Organization as a "special area," where dumping from ships except for food scraps is prohibited. This "Special Area" designation was to go into effect in April 1993; however, enforcement of the "Special Area" rules cannot begin until there are adequate garbage reception facilities at each port. The United States and, in particular, Texas have adequate port garbage facilities in place.(37) But ports of other countries do not. Eighteen countries have agreed to the "Special Area" designation, including Mexico, Cuba, Grenada, Guatemala, Panama, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and other countries on the Caribbean.
Coastal Wetland Education Packets prepared by the Texas General Land Office are available by calling 1-800-407-4251. The packets contain a coastal wetlands habitat poster and fact sheets on wetland types, wetland functions and values, coastal wetland loss and other resource materials.
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