Pentagon Turns to Texas A&M to Protect Endangered Species
February 11, 2009 by Eric OKeefe
Landowners in and around Fort Hood have been receiving millions of dollars from Texas A&M to participate in a secretive Pentagon program whose goal is to protect endangered species.
According to The Dallas Morning News, “the program – which does not disclose the landowners’ identities, the amounts they receive or precisely where their properties are located – aims to provide ranchers with expertise and financial incentives to expand habitat for the endangered golden-cheeked warbler.”
To date an estimated $4.4 million has been doled out by the Aggies, specifically, Texas A&M’s Institute of Renewable Natural Resources.
Critics are vocal:
Despite complaints that the program is a boondoggle for the landowners, some federal officials are pushing to replicate it at other military sites and in federal highway projects. The program’s effectiveness has been questioned by several military officials, federal wildlife authorities and an independent consulting firm, which recommended that the Army cancel it.
But supporters are many, including Texas Comptroller Susan Combs, who helped start the project when she was the state’s agriculture commissioner.
Read more at:
Pentagon Bird Deal Criticized, Dallas Morning News, February 10, 2009.
More Field Reports From The Land Report:- Historic Dahlstrom Ranch Conservation Easement Finalized
A conservation easement of historic proportions was purchased in the heart of the Texas Hill Country only a short drive from the Capitol of Texas. Hays County, the City... - Interior Department Investigates Renewable Energy Speculators
Remember the Interior Department’s ongoing investigation into possible abuses of the Royalty-in-Kind program? Now the department’s Inspector General has started to look into possible abuses by companies seeking to develop renewable... - Library: Working Dogs of Texas
Both the author and the photographer are valued contributors to The Land Report, and there’s no doubt in my mind that landowners from coast to coast will be able... - Duke Energy Makes Major Investment in GreenTrees
Duke Energy has become the lead investor in GreenTrees, a privately managed forest restoration program created and managed by C2I for landowners in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley: Illinois,... - For Sale: 19,079-Acre Pineywoods Mitigation Bank in East Texas
One of the largest wetland mitigation banks in the nation is on the market. Located in Angelina, Jasper, and Polk Counties, the Pineywoods Mitigation Bank is currently the largest...
News Feed
