Throughout 2023, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation is raising money for much-needed projects at all Texas State Parks. The Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports our state parks through fundraising, and they are working to raise funds for these Centennial Wish projects.
As part of the Centennial Celebration of the State Parks turning 100 this year, each state park has a Centennial Wish project.
Scroll through the state parks at https://texasparks100.org/state-park-projects/ to find the park closest to your home or heart, and help grant your favorite park’s centennial wish today!
Centennial Park Fund – proposed constitutional amendment for acquisition and development of state parks
Efforts are underway to educate voters about the proposed constitutional amendment that will establish a $1 Billion Centennial Park Fund to be used solely for the acquisition and development of state parks. The measure received bi-partisan support in the legislature, but must now be approved by the voters in November. A coalition is building to promote passage of the amendment, and Texans for State Parks has been asked to support this measure.
TfSP will work to develop our role with other park supporters in informing voters of this amendment and its importance towards growing our state parks to meet the needs of our citizens and guests.
TfSP will work to develop our role with other park supporters in informing voters of this amendment and its importance towards growing our state parks to meet the needs of our citizens and guests.
TPWD Commissioners Vote to use Eminent Domain Authority to Save Fairfield State Park
Fairfield Lake – The TPW Commission held a special meeting on June 10 regarding the Fairfield Lake where the commissioners voted unanimously to use the state’s eminent domain authority to purchase Fairfield Lake SP. This is an unprecedented action, and the commissioners were very vocal in noting that it was not action taken lightly and will be adopting a commission policy limiting any future use of this authority to “extraordinary and unusual circumstances.” The park is closed at this time, and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future as the new owner has vowed to fight action to pursue redevelopment of the site for luxury estates.
Save the Date! Texans for State Parks 2024 Annual Conference
Save the Date! – Plans are underway for the 2024 Texans for State Parks Annual Conference. The conference is scheduled for the second weekend of April 2024 at Tyler State Park in the north east Texas Piney Woods. More information will be available following the July board meeting.
RESOURCES
The Texans for State Parks Annual Conference of the members is held each year for the transaction of the group’s business. The meeting is open to all members and non-members are also invited to attend. The annual conference provides an opportunity to help keep members and other park supporters informed about issues affecting the state park system and to have an opportunity to get involved and make a difference. It also provides an opportunity for members and interested persons to network with others working in support of the parks. The conference begins Friday evening when members have the opportunity for presentations to show off their work in their parks and continues Saturday with the State of State Parks by State Park Division officials, presentation of Special Recognition Awards and informative programs for partner groups. The conferences are held in various areas of the state each year to make it more accessible for members and park supporters around the state.
The 2024 ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Mark your calendar for the 2024 Texans for State Parks Annual Conference! The conference is scheduled for April 12 and 13, 2024 at Tyler State Park in the north east Texas Piney Woods. The Conference will begin Friday evening. Registration will begin at 5 pm, followed by welcome and a light meal at 6 pm. Presentations will begin at 7:00 pm when members have the opportunity to show off their work in their parks. There will also be space for vendors who have items of interest for members, and for members to display information on their organizations and activities. welcome and a light meal at 6 pm.
There will also be space for vendors who have items of interest for members, and for members to display information on their organizations and activities.
Saturday will begin with early registration, welcome and breakfast. The keynote speaker will be State Parks Director Rodney Franklin addressing The Current State of Texas State Parks and Future Plans. Other program topics include an update on the State Parks 100 Year Celebration events, how we can be involved, and informative programs for partner groups. The afternoon highlight will be the presentation of awards for Outstanding Awards.
More information about programs and reservations will be available on the Texans for State Parks web page https://texansstateparks.org/resources/ in coming months.
To register for the conference scroll down the page and click on https://texansstateparks.org/resources/ below and click on CONFERENCE REGISTRATION
OUTSTANDING AWARDS PROGRAM: Texans for State Parks has developed an Awards Program to positively recognize persons for their exemplary service to our State Parks. The presentation of the awards will coincide with the Texans for State Parks Annual Conference each year. Beginning this year, 2022, Awards will be presented in four categories in each of the six (6) Texas State Parks Regional Areas. The four categories will be Outstanding Superintendent, Outstanding Staff Member, Outstanding Volunteer, Outstanding Friends Group. Nominations may be submitted by the general public, the State Park Staffs, or the Friends Group members. For any nomination to be considered, it will have to be submitted through the Texans for State Parks Website using the format provided. Good park communication will avoid duplication of nominations. The nomination committee will present a list of those nominated to each of the regional directors for their review. Those nominated from each region will be voted on by the nomination committee to determine the final four awards in each region. The final results will be presented by the nominations committee to the President and full board of directors. A winner cannot be nominated again for five years. Opening and closing dates for Nominations will be posted with the dates of the next conference with a link to the nomination forms.
Developing Texas Multi-County Trails Receive TxDOT/USDOT Grant
Two Developing Texas Multi-County Trails Receive TxDOT/USDOT Grant with support of Texans for State Parks and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Two inter-county trails in Texas were recently awarded a total of $25 million through the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) application to the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) RAISE (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) program.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has strongly supported such trail development in Texas and Texans for State Parks (TfSP) provided a support letter for TxDOT’s application and has worked with the NETT on advocacy efforts in recent years.
The Northeast Texas Trail (Farmersville to New Boston, Texas) received $17 million and Paso del Norte Trail (centered on El Paso County and the Rio Grande and Franklin Mountains corridor) received $8 million, when the USDOT approved TxDOT’s application.
New flagship State Parks, such as the soon-to-open Palo Pinto Mountains SP west of Fort Worth, are still greatly needed to fill the tremendous demand by the rapidly growing Texas population and the growing number of visitors.
However, trails are also proving an effective way to support outdoor activities in Texas. They provide opportunities for relaxation, exercise, socializing, and an alternative transportation route.
Besides the actual intrinsic value of the trail, those trails connecting destinations are especially important because they can draw on the value of existing assets such as:
• State, county or local parks
• Rivers, Lakes and Coastal waters
• Other scenic and natural beauty and wildlife observation
• Supportive businesses such as food and lodging
• Shopping, shopping, shopping
• Historic museums, markers, architecture, outdoor art and other features
• Numerous other community assets
In response to public interest in statewide trails, TxDOT has conducted a research study outlining an 8300+ mile example statewide trail system (published 2018) as the Bicycle Tourism Trails Example Network (84 pages plus appendix). This report and 4-page executive summaries (pdf and printer friendly) are available at the following link:
https://www.txdot.gov/discover/bicycle-trails-maps/bicycle-tourism-trails-study.html
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Texans for State Parks Annual Meeting a Success!
After being “put on ice” for a month, the Texans for State Parks 2023 meeting was a great success! More than one hundred people from across the state travelled to McKinney Falls State Park to hear a lineup of great speakers and show their enthusiasm and support for our parks.
The wide appeal of state parks was illustrated as the conference kicked off with presentations during the “Brag Night” social evening. The session began with an introduction to the Get Outside Alliance, which is building a corps of volunteer workers based in the Houston area that are ready to tackle a variety of resource management and facility maintenance projects in parks in East Texas and beyond. This rapidly growing effort provides an easy way for individuals to socialize and enjoy the outdoors, while improving parks at the same time. The Friends of Big Bend Ranch State Park showed how lovers of the park are able to build significant financial support for the park despite being dispersed across the state through their online auction. The evening closed with the Lake Ray Roberts Equestrian Alliance, which has channeled the contributions of a major user group into significant improvements to the facilities of the park that benefits the many horseback riders and others using the Ray Roberts Greenbelt and other park trails.
State Parks Director Rodney Franklin provided the keynote address on Saturday, noting the broad support for the park system that has developed as it enters its 100th year. While providing an update on the progress of new parks already in the system, Director Franklin also cited the need for more parks expressed by Governor Abbott in a recent legislative event at the Bob Bullock Museum as an indicator of the realization by many at the capitol that parks are a good investment for the state, and must continue to grow as the Texas population expands. State Parks Marketing manager Thomas Wilhelm followed up with a presentation of State Park Anniversary products and other items that will be available during 2023. Hint: get your commemorative items soon – they are selling quickly!
A highlight of the day for many was the presentation of awards for Outstanding Park Staff Member, Park Superintendent, Park Volunteer and Park Friends Group for each region of the state. Parks Director Franklin joined TfSP Awards Program Chairman Tom Rhodes in presenting these awards to a very deserving group of winners.
Thanks to everyone that attended the conference and helped to make it a success! A special thanks also goes out to Dita Darrah of the David Chandler Company showing their line of astronomy related items, and Robin Stalling of Bike Texas for providing test rides on a variety of Ebikes for attendees. Finally, a big thanks to the park staff at McKinney Falls for all their support in making the meeting a success!
Stay tuned for updates on next year’s conference coming soon – you won’t want to miss it!
Kevin Good, President
Texans for State Parks Annual Meeting a Success!
After being “put on ice” for a month, the Texans for State Parks 2023 meeting was a great success! More than one hundred people from across the state travelled to McKinney Falls State Park to hear a lineup of great speakers and show their enthusiasm and support for our parks.
The wide appeal of state parks was illustrated as the conference kicked off with presentations during the “Brag Night” social evening. The session began with an introduction to the Get Outside Alliance, which is building a corps of volunteer workers based in the Houston area that are ready to tackle a variety of resource management and facility maintenance projects in parks in East Texas and beyond. This rapidly growing effort provides an easy way for individuals to socialize and enjoy the outdoors, while improving parks at the same time. The Friends of Big Bend Ranch State Park showed how lovers of the park are able to build significant financial support for the park despite being dispersed across the state through their online auction. The evening closed with the Lake Ray Roberts Equestrian Alliance, which has channeled the contributions of a major user group into significant improvements to the facilities of the park that benefits the many horseback riders and others using the Ray Roberts Greenbelt and other park trails.
State Parks Director Rodney Franklin provided the keynote address on Saturday, noting the broad support for the park system that has developed as it enters its 100th year. While providing an update on the progress of new parks already in the system, Director Franklin also cited the need for more parks expressed by Governor Abbott in a recent legislative event at the Bob Bullock Museum as an indicator of the realization by many at the capitol that parks are a good investment for the state, and must continue to grow as the Texas population expands. State Parks Marketing manager Thomas Wilhelm followed up with a presentation of State Park Anniversary products and other items that will be available during 2023. Hint: get your commemorative items soon – they are selling quickly!
A highlight of the day for many was the presentation of awards for Outstanding Park Staff Member, Park Superintendent, Park Volunteer and Park Friends Group for each region of the state. Parks Director Franklin joined TfSP Awards Program Chairman Tom Rhodes in presenting these awards to a very deserving group of winners.
Thanks to everyone that attended the conference and helped to make it a success! A special thanks also goes out to Dita Darrah of the David Chandler Company showing their line of astronomy related items, and Robin Stalling of Bike Texas for providing test rides on a variety of Ebikes for attendees. Finally, a big thanks to the park staff at McKinney Falls for all their support in making the meeting a success!
Stay tuned for updates on next year’s conference coming soon – you won’t want to miss it!
MARK THE (NEW!) DATE – THE 2023 ANNUAL CONFERENCE HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED
MARK THE (NEW!) DATE!
The Texans for State Parks annual conference has been rescheduled for March 3 & 4 at McKinney Falls State Park.
McKinney Falls is recovering from the recent storm, and we are rescheduling our meeting for March 3 & 4. The location is the same, and we will have the same great lineup of speakers including State Parks Director Rodney Franklin – so plan to come to Austin for a great learning and networking event.
The March conference, hosted by the Friends of McKinney Falls State Park volunteer group, will begin Friday evening at the Park Dining Hall. Registration will begin at 5 pm, followed by welcome and a light meal at 6 pm. Presentations will begin at 7:00 pm when members have the opportunity to show off their work in their parks. There will also be space for vendors who have items of interest for members, and for members to display information and sale items from their parks.
Saturday we will begin at 8 am with early registration, welcome and breakfast. The keynote speaker will be State Parks Director Rodney Franklin addressing The Current State of Texas State Parks and Future Plans. Other program topics include an update on the State Parks 100 Year Celebration events, how we can be involved, and informative programs for partner groups.
The afternoon highlight will be the presentation of awards for Outstanding Park Superintendents, staff members, volunteers and partner groups from across the state. And, just for fun, we will have a Silent Auction so bring your contributions and shop for new treasures!
We look forward to seeing you there!
TEXANS FOR STATE PARKS OFFERS PASS THROUGH DONATION PROGRAM
Looking for ways we can help you help the Texas State Parks? We offer a pass through donation program to individuals and organizations looking to improve the Texas State Parks system.
Some organizations wish to help a park of their choice but are required to make donations to non-profits rather than a state agency or within a specified time frame. Texans for State Parks has developed a process so that we may act as the fiscal agent for grants and gifts to parks and/or Friends Groups. For example, TfSP accepted a used mobile home for a second park residence at Ft. Parker State Park, as well as funds for relocation and repairs from local supporters. In such events, the funds will be designated as Restricted Income and shall be dispersed for the predetermined purpose. TfSP will also disperse the funds to vendors, suppliers, or contractors upon receipt of invoices that have been approved by the grantee when necessary. TfSP may retain a predetermined percentage of the donation for expenses. In such cases, the amount will be agreed on prior to the initiation of the grant and will be based on the time and resources required of TfSP volunteers or staff to administer.
To arrange a monetary or property donation to a park through Texans for State Parks, please contact Texans for State Parks, P.O Box 41480, Austin, Tx 78704 or email [email protected]. You may also contact the park of your choice and ask them to arrange the donation through Texans for State Parks.