AUSTIN, Texas — For more than two decades, Jeff Francell has been helping to preserve land in Texas.
“When I was growing up, it felt like Texas was limitless, the space would go on forever,” Francell said. “In my lifetime, the state has quadrupled and space is feeling like a premium now.”
The director of Land Protection for The Nature Conservancy in Texas believes the time to act is now with a reported 240,000 acres being lost to development yearly, according to the state’s Land and Water Conservation Coalition.
“Texas is among the 14 states that doesn’t have a land conservation funding source,” Francell said. “We have the most momentum for something like this in my career, which goes back around 25 years.”
Rep. Justin Holland, R-Rockwall, a sixth-generation Texan, is at the forefront of one of these two bills and is asking for $2 billion to create a historic land and water conservation fund.
The budget would be used to support needed land acquisition across the state as well as essential conservation projects to protect Texas’ most important natural resources.
“Texas grows about the size of Corpus Christi a year,” Holland said. “We have to make sure the land is there, that we have clean water and open spaces to enjoy.”
With recent polling showing more than 80% of Texans would support this initiative on the November ballot, it’s a bipartisan effort bringing the state together at a critical moment.
“Really feel like we have the opportunity to do something that would leave a long-standing legacy on the state of Texas for generations to come,” Holland said.
A sentiment fellow Lone Star natives such as Francell are excited to see move forward at the Texas State Capitol for the first time in almost 50 years.
“This is the most significant conservation initiative in Texas history,” Francell said. “We haven’t had a funding source since then that goes to conservation of nature resources and public access to open space.”