Partnering to Save an Endangered Species and an Endangered Training Installation in Texas

Over the course of two years, partnerships among Camp Bullis, the city of San Antonio, Bexar County, The Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and willing landowners permanently protected 3,800 acres that mostly consists of high-quality, golden-cheeked warbler habitat in the Texas Hill Country. An additional 1,900 acres will soon be protected. This habitat also provides the military with enough species mitigation credits to transform unoccupied, low-quality golden-cheeked warbler habitat into an urgently needed training area. According to Camp Bullis Environmental Attorney and Advisor Jim Cannizzo the partnership provided a win-win-win for all parties and became a testament to the power of creative thinking to solve big problems. And by the way, he notes, the Department of Defense will receive a good deal in regaining the use of 2,700 acres for only $7 million instead of the $60 million or more it would cost to acquire new land using conventional methods.