[soft music] [creek water flowing]
- Ted Hollingsworth: When we think of Texas, we think of
wide open spaces. We think of vast forest. We think of mountains off in the distance. We
think of the Milky Way coming out at night. [crickets trilling]
- Ted Hollingsworth: And we're losing our sense of place,
as we see that landscape change. And the simple fact is that Texas,
the state of Texas is losing working lands faster than any other state in the nation.
We're seeing land converted from open space to urban uses and suburban uses and commercial uses
faster than we ever have in history.
- Narrator: Less than 5% of the land in Texas is public property.
open for everyone to enjoy. Ted Hollingsworth, who runs the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's
Land Conservation Program. He considers it a calling to find new property to preserve.
- Ted Hollingsworth: Our mission really is,
you know, those children that we see that are here from probably from some urban area,
and and and some of 'em are maybe seeing an alligator for the first time, and that's
really important and I get that.
- Park visitor: Look at it!
- Ted Hollingsworth: But my personal bias is that I wanna make sure that alligator has a place to live, and it has enough space that it
can grow to be 12 or 13 or 14 feet long. And one of the ways that we can really help
offset this loss of land and loss of conservation is by land acquisition.
[bird's wings flapping]
- Ted Hollingsworth: When I became the director of the land conservation program,
not only did we not get appropriated a single dime in state money for land acquisition,
but we were specifically given no authority to use state money to
acquire land, which meant that if you wrote me a check for a million dollars and you said,
"Ted, please add land to Brazos Bend State Park," it was worthless.
- Narrator: Thankfully things have
changed. In the past 20 years, more state and federal money has been freed up to buy land.
And it's now the law in Texas, that several million dollars from the sporting goods sales tax
is set aside every year for land acquisition.
- Ted Hollingsworth: Fortunately, things have changed a lot in the last 20 years. There's more funding available.
There's more state funds available to match the federal funds. We have more opportunities
than ever.
- Narrator: Ted Hollingsworth has seized those opportunities, helping to ensure 90% of Texans are now within
an hour's drive of public outdoor spaces.
- Ted Hollingsworth: Maybe my favorite would be Palo Pinto Mountains State Park. Powderhorn, of course, you know,
has had a lotta partners and a lotta players. We were blessed to add 304 acres to this park,
a couple of years ago.
- Jim Cisneros: So this land acquisition that we have out here, is gonna allow us to expand, not just
camp sites, not just group sites, but also expand the diversity of what we have to offer.
- Ted Hollingsworth: In the 18 years that, 17 years I've been director
of the program, we've averaged right at 10,000 acres a year added to the department's lands,
wildlife management areas, coastal management areas,
state parks. I haven't run the numbers lately, but I'm guessing we're pushing 200,000 acres.
My wife spent her entire career as a first-grade teacher, as an elementary school teacher.
What's important to her is that children, you know, get away from
these things and have a relationship, understand their place in the world.
What's important to me, is that we preserve the place in the world so
that her children have access to it. So, it really means a lot to us to be able
to see these places, and especially see the children come and have that
out-of-the-classroom experience.
[soft music fades]