wildlife exemption (Howe: houses, buy, property tax)

[4beanie]

If you buy a piece of property (15 acres) that has ag exemption on it and you want to convert it to wildlife exempt what must you do? There is water on property and erosion control. what else might we do for migrating birds maybe food? shelter? Any information would be appreciated as we would like to maintain this exemption.

[TexasHorseLady]

In brief, you must have a plan and must file it and live up to it. A lot of things that you'd do anyway count towards it. There are 7 (if I'm remembering right) categories and you must do things out of 3 of them.

It's a bit more complicated than that, but not much. The big thing is, the land in question must already have its ag valuation, which you say yours does.

I'll go dig up the info and post it for you tomorrow.

[jimboburnsy]

Follow the link to the Texas Property Tax Code and scroll down to Section 23.51 for definitions and qualifications. TAX CODEÂ*Â* CHAPTER 23. APPRAISAL METHODS AND PROCEDURES (http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/TX/content/htm/tx.001.00.000023.00.htm - broken link)

It appears that you must first be able to prove that you are managing wildlife. Wildlife management is defined as- "actively using land that at the time the wildlife-management use began was appraised as qualified open-space land under this subchapter in at least three of the following ways to propagate a sustaining breeding, migrating, or wintering population of indigenous wild animals for human use, including food, medicine, or recreation: (i) habitat control; (ii) erosion control; (iii) predator control; (iv) providing supplemental supplies of water; (v) providing supplemental supplies of food; (vi) providing shelters; and (vii) making of census counts to determine population;"

As far as actually having the exemption converted from Ag. to Wildlife, its probably just a matter of paperwork and suffering through a bureaucratic quagmire at the county appraisal district and/or the county tax assessor's office.

I doubt that this will be a "free of cost" undertaking but I also doubt it would be prohibitively expensive. The "prohibitive" will likely come from long lines, long holds on the phone and a lot of waiting.

[TexasHorseLady]

Actually, if you don't have time for the long lines and long holds on the phone, there is at least one company that will do it for you, either part of it or the whole shebang including dealing with the tax appraiser. Can't remember the name right now, but I'm sure I can find it when I get back to my own computer.

Some of the things are as simple as putting up birdhouses for birds, piling up brush that you cut instead of burning it to provide habitat, growing certain kinds of plants for native wildlife to forage on, etc. You can even have livestock on it if it works with your plan.

[tracymarie]

They are not a lot of long lines and red tape to cut. All you will need to do is call your county appraisal and tell them that you want to switch. However, you will likely be audited to prove that you are following your wildlife management plan. Every county is different, but some are strictly enforced. If you are looking for consulting help, my company can help you.

Benchmark Ecological Services, Inc. is a small company that specializes in a variety of environmental related work. Individuals at our company have personally applied for the wildlife tax exemption for personal property. If you would like further information, please feel free to call us at (281)934-3403.

[EasilyAmused]

I have quite a bit of acreage and I am keeping my Ag Exempt (timber) over changing it to wildlife. If I wanted to change to wildlife management, it's heck of a lot harder to prove that you are jumping through all the hoops the right. It's a stricter exemption. Also, TPWL investigates Wildlife Managed Land far more than the State of Texas checks AG exempts.

However, I am feeding and watering deer, managing the doe population....so I can hunt. I get my LAMPS tags for the land. But for the exemption, I'll cut some trees down in 20 years to make the county happy.

[doss1]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

I have quite a bit of acreage and I am keeping my Ag Exempt (timber) over changing it to wildlife. If I wanted to change to wildlife management, it's heck of a lot harder to prove that you are jumping through all the hoops the right. It's a stricter exemption. Also, TPWL investigates Wildlife Managed Land far more than the State of Texas checks AG exempts.

However, I am feeding and watering deer, managing the doe population....so I can hunt. I get my LAMPS tags for the land. But for the exemption, I'll cut some trees down in 20 years to make the county happy.

What I don't get is, why do you have to work on your land and make it wildlife exemp in order to get the benefits? Isn't an untouched land (no grazing) just as good, if not better for wildlife? Then they should be giving all us landowners that haven't disturbed the land some kind of tax break.

Anyways, good for you (the OP) for being interested in the wildlife exempt rather than the usual cattle/goat grazing. I'm glad some people are doing something different!

[EasilyAmused]

Originally Posted by TexasNick

What I don't get is, why do you have to work on your land and make it wildlife exemp in order to get the benefits? Isn't an untouched land (no grazing) just as good, if not better for wildlife? Then they should be giving all us landowners that haven't disturbed the land some kind of tax break.

Anyways, good for you (the OP) for being interested in the wildlife exempt rather than the usual cattle/goat grazing. I'm glad some people are doing something different!

Managing the land for wildlife is also managing existing wildlife on the land. It's not just birds. This includes feed and recording the wildlife. I think I spend 7500 a year on corn for those animals. If you have a large deer population, the doe are like rats, you have to "manage" the population. Are you suggesting you get an exemption for doing nothing?

[doss1]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

Are you suggesting you get an exemption for doing nothing?

I'd go so far as to pay people NOT TO BUILD ANYTHING on certain pieces of land. Don't build a park or even a wildlife refuge. Let the land be. People are not good stewards of the land and I've seen enough damage that I no longer trust even the environmentalists. Stop sprawl.

^No tree-hugger.

[EasilyAmused]

Oh you have to build shelters my friend. Here's the list to qualify. And they DO come check
Receiving Texas' Wildlife Property Tax Classification
If the property is qualified 1-d-1 wildlife management land, the landowner must choose and implement at least three of seven specific management practices (developed from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and adopted by the Comptroller in 2001) to maintain their wildlife management property tax exemption. These practices (listed below) are deemed as ways to "propagate a sustaining breeding, migrating, or wintering population of indigenous wild animals for human use, including food, medicine, or recreation." 1) Habitat control;
2) Erosion control;
3) Predator control;
4) Providing supplemental supplies of water;
5) Providing supplemental supplies of food;
6) Providing shelters; and
7) Making census counts to determine population. Landowners should also note that if they stop using the land for agriculture, there is a "rollback" tax penalty. This penalty is in place to keep owners from paying lower property taxes on land that may be intended for non-agricultural purposes in the future. The rollback tax equals the difference between the taxes the owner actually paid in the five years preceding the change in use and the taxes the owner would have paid on his property's market value. Be sure to consult with your tax accountant before making changes to your agricultural property tax exemption.

The major difference is that a Wildlife Exemption lowers you property taxes, but it does COST YOU to manage the land. The Ag exempt you are MAKING MONEY at some point, while getting a break on the taxes. It's all how you want to play the game. I just prefer to do wildlife management voluntarily,but keep the Ag exemption by cutting down 10 acres of pine every 20 years.