Texas Forest Service

Mission

Texas Forest Service (TFS) provides statewide leadership to assure the state’s trees, forests and related natural resources are sustained for the benefit of all.

Priorities and Goals

The first-level priorities of TFS are to:

  • Provide current data and analyses on the forest resources in Texas
  • Improve safety and quality of life for Texans and communities
  • Help stabilize and revitalize the forest industry in Texas
  • Improve water quality in Texas

Additional priorities and goals are to:

  • Implement an ecosystem services marketing program
  • Improve the delivery of services to the citizens of Texas
  • Increase project collaboration with other A&M System components

Commentary on Top Priorities

Provide Current Data and Analyses on the Forest Resources in Texas

Strategies
  • Secure funding and statewide implementation of five-year forest inventory analysis cycle
  • Provide assessment of changes in forest resources and their impact on Texas
  • Assist state comptroller’s office in updating forestland tax rates
  • Assist appraisal districts in more accurate assessment of property values and taxes
Progress

Texas forested lands are being fragmented and sold at an incredible rate today (see Figure 1, Forestland Ownership). Real-time and accurate data on the state’s forest resources are imperative for owners and decision makers to successfully navigate today’s environment. To address this issue, TFS reallocated funds internally to leverage federal funds and implemented the Texas Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) Program.

Additionally, seeing the importance of having accurate, real-time information statewide, TFS expanded the Texas FIA program in January 2004 from the 43 counties comprising East Texas, to include the remaining 211 counties. Now, with the inclusion of Central and West Texas forest inventories, additional critical data will be available, such as the type and amount of potential wildfire fuel and extent of species encroachment upon West Texas watersheds.
Texas FIA crews received 98 percent on their quality assurance scores, the highest score of all southern states, earning the program “model” status by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service.

Figure 1: TEXAS FORESTLAND OWNERSHIP
 

Improve Safety and Quality of Life for Texans and Communities

Strategies
  • Supply equipment and training to volunteer fire departments (VFDs) for improvement of emergency response capabilities
  • Provide emergency response services
  • Offer urban-wildland interface training to local governments and private developers/architects
  • Provide urban forestry training and assistance to cities to increase the presence of trees and accompanying improvements such as air quality improvement
  • Provide incident management training to local communities
  • Assist the State of Texas with homeland security efforts
Progress

Texas Forest Service’s innovative VFD programs—equipment and training funded under HB 2604 (see Figure 2) and workers’ compensation insurance for firefighters funded under HB 3667 (see Figure 3)—have helped build local emergency response capacity in communities all over the state. Even so, the threat of a serious wildfire is always present somewherein this state on any given day and TFS must respond. Land values have increased 100 percent and home values 80 percent in the past decade. With the growing population moving into high fire-risk areas, the challenge of protecting Texans, their properties and the ecosystem is escalating.

Figure 2 Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program (HB 2604)
September 1, 2002, to March 31, 2005
Number of Fire Department Requests 5,613
Number of Requests Funded 3,640
Total Amount Requested $135,963,707
Total Amount Approved $40,461,000
Category Requests Funded # Items Purchased
Brush Trucks 295 295
Water Tankers 115 115
Truck Chassis 115 115
Slip on Modules 103 103
Subtotal 628 628
Fire Equipment 364 3,225
Rescue Equipment 197 504
Communications Systems 64 136
Dry Hydrant 24 99
Computers 224 225
Subtotal 873 4,189
Personal Protective Clothing 1,462 (Sets) 9,061
Training Tuitions 63 (Students) 6,112
Training Libraries 1,525 (Items) 96
Subtotal 1,525 6,208

Industry fire crews and equipment historically available to assist TFS with fire suppression have virtually dried up since major forest industries downsized or closed their operations over the past few years. There are 100 fewer firefighters, and the total number of heavy firefighting dozers declined from 124 in 1993 to 69 in 2003, representing a 44 percent reduction in the state’s total response capacity.

Figure 3 Rural Volunteer Fire Department  Insurance Program Approvals
  Number of Departments Number of Firefighters TFS Amount
FY 2003 243 6,786 $361,837.12
FY 2004 365 9,918 $614,997,64
FY 2005 to date 296 8,056 $529,290.21
Total (as of 3/15/2005) $1,506,124.97

Note: HB 3667, passed by the 77th Legislature, provides financial assistance to volunteer fire departments for workers’ compensation insurance payments. Funding is provided through Fund 5066 from a 2 percent tax on fireworks sales.

Additional funding for the Texas Wildfire Protection Plan would help Texas begin to build its fire crews and equipment, but has not yet been secured. However, TFS has already undertaken an expanded wildfire prevention program involving all TFS districts and field personnel. Also, with real-time fire-risk data provided by TFS’ new Predictive Services Program, the agency is now able to preposition fire crews and equipment to areas of the state with greater fire danger, thereby allowing for concentrated prevention measures and rapid initial fire response.

Texas is one of the fastest urbanizing states in the country (see Figure 4). The East Texas region, with its vibrant forests and natural resources, is becoming increasingly attractive to those wanting to “escape to the country.” Two key areas of East Texas being impacted the most are along I-20 in Northeast Texas and north of Houston in Southeast Texas (see Texas urban population density).

In an effort to meet this growing demand and protect the state’s natural resources, TFS re-allocated agency funds to create “urban districts” in Montgomery County and along the I-20 corridor. These districts are positioned to address emerging issues associated with this transition from city life to country living or the urban-wildland interface. TFS has dedicated four FTEs supported by others in these areas to address these critical issues. This progressive move allows TFS to take advantage of several federal programs to help leverage our efforts in serving the growing number of Texans living in the urban-wildland interface.

The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security, Division of Emergency Management (DEM) has been given the overall responsibility for implementing the National Incident Management System (NIMS) throughout the state. DEM in turn has tasked TFS with implementing NIMS at the local level in Texas. TFS has formed a working group of local emergency service responders (the Texas NIMS Consortium) from several metropolitan areas to provide guidance on how to field local incident management teams, as well as offering initial training for several municipalities. TFS is also working with Harris County on the development of a Category 5 Hurricane Evacuation Plan based on NIMS criteria.
 

Help Stabilize and Revitalize the Forest Industry in Texas

Figure 4: Urbanization of Texas

Strategies
  • Undertake economic development activities to help attract new mills and help improve product quality
  • Implement initiatives to significantly increase the current level of tree plantings
Progress

The East Texas forest sector produced $22.1 billion in industry outputs, employed 79,500 workers and paid $2.9 billion in wages, a major impact on the state’s economy. To maintain these economic benefits, the state needs to grow more trees to increase available timber for existing and new forest industries and new forest product ventures.

Tree planting by large corporate landowners slowed from a high of 120,000 acres in 2000 to a low of 62,600 in 2003. The drop in planting combined with the sell-off of 1.5 million acres of industry land within the last three years makes it clear that the reforestation needs for sustaining the forest economy must come from individual/family forest owners, who hold more than 63 percent of the state’s forests. Currently, these landowners are planting around 45,000 to 50,000 acres annually—not nearly enough to sustain the forest resource and economy.

Opportunities are plentiful for Texans to plant more trees, such as by planting harvested lands and converting idle pastureland to trees. Programs and policies (and the infrastructure to support them) must be developed to encourage individual/family forest owners to plant new trees for the long-term sustainability of our forests and forest-based economy.

TFS is designing a plan to revamp its rural and urban tree-planting efforts and address the vision for shaping forestry in Texas over the next decade.

Improve Water Quality in Texas

Strategies
  • Contract with forest landowners for best management practices monitoring
  • Assist with cleanup of salt cedar along the Pecos and Concho rivers to reduce water loss (subject to receipt of funding)
  • Conduct training of loggers on best management practices
  • Promote water quality best management practices with individual and family forest owners
Progress

As the state’s population continues to grow, so will demand for clean water. More than 60 percent of the state’s freshwater resources originate from East Texas forests. Texas forestry leaders developed the Best Management Practices (BMPs) Water Quality Program to protect East Texas streams and creeks during all forestry activities such as harvesting, road building, chemical treatments and tree planting. BMPs are voluntary; more than 90 percent of Texas landowners, loggers and consulting foresters implement these practices.

With forestland changing hands more frequently and one-owner large tracts being parceled into multi-owner small tracts, TFS needs to provide the training and information resources to help these new landowners embrace BMP implementation.