On August 3, TPWD acquired 2,850 acres in Stephens County that will become the Robbie Davis Wildlife Management Area.
The WMA, located in the western Cross Timbers ecoregion of the state, will be operated as part of the Cross Timbers and Prairies Ecosystem Management Project within TPWD’s Wildlife Division. The property provides good examples of western Cross Timbers habitat, mostly dominated by post oak and live oak forests, with several ponds and seasonal wet-weather drainages, and rocky sandstone hillsides and bluffs.
In a private lands state, access to hunting lands is invaluable. The new WMA will be utilized as a public hunting site, providing opportunities for walk-in style dove hunting and drawn hunts for deer, turkey, and possibly waterfowl in a region where relatively little public hunting land currently exists.
“The new Robbie Davis WMA will go a long way to increase public hunting opportunities and support our hunting heritage that is part and parcel to Texas,” said Alan Cain, TPWD Wildlife Division Director. “Hunting has and always will be critical to the conservation of our native lands and wildlife.”
Being close to the metroplex, the WMA offers the public a chance to experience the natural beauty of the Cross Timber ecoregion.
When Stephens County ranch owner Robbie Davis passed away, she left her 2,850-acre family ranch to Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation with the hope that it would one day benefit the people of Texas.
TPWF sold the property to TPWD at 75-percent of its appraised value, with the remaining 25-percent representing a charitable contribution that helped make the acquisition possible. Sale proceeds will establish an endowment supporting habitat enhancement and management of Robbie Davis Wildlife Management Area and other Texas Parks and Wildlife Department WMAs.
