If you missed the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society's recent annual meeting
, you missed James Oliver's compelling remarks about why the conservation of Texas' rural lands matters - to everyone! Thanks to the Livestock Weekly's Colleen Schreiber for capturing his remarks in the March 9 issue.
Oliver began by highlighting some concerning trends: Texas is losing her ag lands faster than any other state, and less than one percent of the population owns rural land. The result is that most Texans have little or no connection to the lands that produce the food, fiber, clean air and clean water that they rely upon.
Oliver encouraged the audience of largely wildlife biologists and others working in conservation to get outside their comfort zones and communicate the importance of land, water, wildlife, and agriculture.
"We must relate the relevancy of water quality, of clean air and the benefits of open space to the urban audience. We must be able to communicate our relevancy to that majority - the relevancy of our work; the relevancy of the people who employ their craft on the land, who understand the hardships and the rewards of responsible land stewardship, who understand the financial burdens of owning and maintaining private working lands."
James is a great ambassador for conservation and agriculture, and we are proud to have him on the Ag Land Trust Team.
All the best,
Blair Fitzsimons Chief Executive Officer Texas Agricultural Land Trust
