Pines and Prairies Land Trust recently enrolled Yegua Knobbs Preserve (YKP) in the Houston Toad Safe Harbor Agreement with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). YKP is an incredibly special property. It has many rare and unique features that makes it such a special place deserving of added protections. These unique aspects are important parts of our natural heritage, our history and the things that make Texas...Texas. And it’s PPLT’s mission to protect land in perpetuity. As such, we also take responsibility for benefitting our area’s natural resources, offering opportunities for the public to learn about and enjoy these special places and create a legacy that will continue to benefit people and the Texas landscape. A Safe Harbor Agreement is one tool we can use and the timing of it coincides with our dedication to restore and protect the unique habitats at YKP, including the fact that this property is also potential habitat for the critically endangered Houston toad.
So just what is a Safe Harbor Agreement or SHA? It is a voluntary agreement involving private property owners whose actions contribute to the recovery of species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. In exchange, participating property owners receive formal assurances from FWS that they will not be held liable for incidental take (accidentally harming or killing the covered species). In addition at the end of the agreement period, participants may return the enrolled property to the land conditions that existed at the beginning of the agreement if they so choose.
Recently in our area, FWS approved a Programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement for the Houston toad, administered by TPWD. This provides an efficient and streamlined tool for landowners interested in participating in Houston toad conservation actions like brush management, prescribed burning, pond management and invasive species control, among other practices. In fact, managing habitat for an endangered species ensures better habitat for all wildlife in the same ecosystem, including Northern Bobwhite Quail, White-tailed Deer, songbirds and many others. Well-managed habitat benefits all wildlife, all people, our water resources, cultural resources and the air we breathe. It also comes down to the fact that private landowners are critical to the successful recovery of endangered species and after all, Houston toads are native Texans too!
While PPLT manages YKP in this same spirit already, tools like this give us peace of mind that our actions to conserve a part of Texas’s natural heritage will not result in increased liability on our land. PPLT can actively contribute to the recovery of an endangered species, receive ongoing technical guidance and rank higher for cost-share assistance for habitat improvement projects, all as a bonus for managing land for an endangered species! In addition, our neighbors are also eligible for additional protections under a special umbrella agreement if they choose to participate.
Pines and Prairies Land Trust is incredibly proud of our enrollment in the Houston Toad Safe Harbor Agreement and we see it as a benefit for everyone. Keep an eye out for the upcoming activities, educational opportunities and habitat restoration projects we’ll be embarking on in the years to come and join us if you can! Our ultimate goal will be to show how managing for an endangered species while conducting sustainable agricultural practices while providing public access to the outdoors can all work hand in hand.
We welcome you to contact us with any questions and if you are interested in this or different programs that you can enroll in to protect you and your land, including protections from incidental take, please contact TPWD’s SHA program coordinator and Conservation Initiatives Specialist, Elizabeth Bates at Elizabeth.Bates@tpwd.texas.gov or 512-389-8759.
Please join us in the spirit of protecting land legacies for generations of Texans to come.
