Illustrated Edwards Plateau limestone creek, Ashe juniper and Golden-cheeked warbler.

Edwards Plateau Ecoregion

Burnet County Wildlife Exemption

How to get - and keep - a 1-d-1 wildlife management valuation on Burnet County land: deadlines, the appraisal district, and the practices that fit this part of Texas.

Ecoregion
Edwards Plateau
County seat & CAD
Burnet, Texas
Application window
January 1 – April 30
Core requirement
Form 50‑129 + PWD‑885 · 3 of 7 qualifying practices annually

The wildlife exemption in Burnet County

Burnet CAD wants a Wildlife Management Annual Report, PWD‑888, filed by March 1 every year. Its published checklist asks you to show at least three qualifying activities and to back them up with receipts or a detailed dated activity log, photographs, and an aerial map marking where on the property each activity took place. Burnet’s published policy states that failure to submit the required annual wildlife report results in removal of the agricultural value.

Build that record as the year goes rather than reconstructing it in February. On acreage, Burnet CAD’s published policy uses 14.3 qualifying acres as its wildlife-management minimum. That test applies only where the tract was reduced in size since January 1 of the preceding tax year. A tract that is the same size or larger is not measured against it, though every other qualification requirement still applies.

Burnet sits on the seam between two kinds of country. West and south toward Marble Falls and the Llano Uplift, the soils come off granite and run coarse and shallow. East of there the ground is limestone, carrying oak and juniper woodland and old fields. The Colorado River, the Highland Lakes and their feeder creeks push riparian cover through both. Say in the plan which of those the tract sits on, and manage for that.

On the ground in Burnet County

Burnet County straddles several versions of the Hill Country at once: granite around Marble Falls and the Llano Uplift, limestone farther east, rocky ranchland, the Colorado River and the Highland Lakes. That variation makes tract-level habitat work more useful than a single county recipe. Selective juniper or brush control, native-grass recovery, protection of creeks and lake tributaries, dependable water and repeatable census work can all fit. The local wildlife plan should explain whether the property is granite, limestone, lakeside or upland - and manage accordingly.

Burnet County lies in the Edwards Plateau and is assigned to TPWD's Edwards Plateau (Eastern) wildlife-use appraisal region - the legal map that sets the reduced-tract acreage rule below.

Is there an acreage minimum in Burnet County?

Did the tract get smaller since January 1 of last year?

No ➔

There is no wildlife acreage test in Burnet County at all. Whatever the size, file Comptroller Form 50‑129 with a PWD‑885 plan. A 7-acre tract that already carried 1‑d‑1 (ag exempt) and was never split can convert with no penalties.

Yes ➔

The Burnet County appraisal district has published its figure. The legal minimum land requirement is 14.3 acres.

Source: Burnet Central Appraisal District AG Manual, October 3, 2019.

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See how Burnet County compares: minimum acreage for all 254 Texas counties →

Burnet’s annual report deadline is March 1

Burnet CAD requires a Wildlife Management Annual Report, PWD‑888, by March 1. Its published checklist asks the owner to document at least three qualifying activities and to supply supporting proof: receipts or a detailed dated activity log, photographs, and an aerial map identifying where each activity happened.

Burnet’s published policy states that failure to submit the required annual wildlife report results in removal of the agricultural value. Treat it as a filing you owe the district every year.

Photographs carry more weight when you can say where and when they were taken, so mark the map and date the log while the work is fresh.

How it works here

Burnet County follows the statewide 1-d-1 framework (Texas Tax Code §23.51(7)); the local variables are your appraisal district's filing habits and the Edwards Plateau intensity standards:

  • Start from an existing ag or timber valuation. Wildlife management is a conversion of qualified open-space land - check eligibility if your status is unclear.
  • File a wildlife management plan (TPWD form PWD‑885) with the Burnet County appraisal district, attached to Comptroller Form 50‑129, between January 1 and April 30. What goes in the plan →
  • Perform at least 3 of the 7 practices each year at Edwards Plateau intensity levels - see the local examples below.
  • Document everything - dates, photos, quantities. When the chief appraiser requests an annual report (PWD‑888), you'll answer with records, not recollections.
  • No minimum acreage applies unless your tract got smaller since January 1 of last year. If it did, Burnet County's figure is covered above - the district picks one number for the whole county, and the plan is still the application either way.

The 7 practices in Burnet County

These are the kinds of activities appraisal districts in the Edwards Plateau recognize as real management - your plan picks at least three. The Edwards Plateau region guide covers the species, habitat problems and intensity standards behind them.

Choose any 3 of the 7 qualifying practices. The highlighted practices are commonly recommended in this county, but the right combination depends on the property and management goals.

Commonly Recommended in Burnet CountyCommonly Recommended

Habitat control

Split the tract into the habitat units it has: granite-derived soil, limestone upland, oak and juniper woodland, old field, and the lake and creek tributary corridors. Selective brush treatment paired with native understory recovery does more here than blanket clearing, and mature oak-juniper woodland can be worth keeping where it is carrying useful cover.

Commonly Recommended in Burnet CountyCommonly Recommended

Erosion control

Map the granitic washouts, shallow-soil slopes, ranch-road drainage, tributary headcuts and the approaches down to the lakes and creeks before choosing a project. Since Burnet asks for photographs anyway, set fixed photo points and shoot the same frame before and after the work.

Commonly Recommended in Burnet CountyCommonly Recommended

Census counts

Repeatable camera stations, deer and turkey counts, bird surveys and browse checks give the annual report two things: evidence that wildlife is using the place, and evidence that the habitat work is changing conditions.

Supplemental water

Make the stock water already on the place safe and reachable for wildlife, and protect the tributary and riparian ground. Add upland water only where it opens up range animals were not using.

Providing shelter

Keep mature oak and juniper cover where its habitat value warrants it, and leave snags standing where that is safe and useful. Brush piles and downed woody cover come out of the selective treatment you are doing anyway.

Predator control

Feral-hog removal holds up locally where you have documented the rooting or the damage to water and habitat. Other predator work should name the target species and the objective it serves.

Supplemental food

Native forb and browse recovery is the more durable objective on most Burnet ground. If you do put in a food plot, pick a soil and site that can carry it, and put it on the map that goes with the annual report.

Filing & the appraisal district

DateWhat happens in Burnet County
January 1Valuation date - land is judged on its use and qualification as of this day.
Jan 1 – Apr 30File Form 50‑129 with your PWD‑885 plan at the Burnet County appraisal district (Burnet).
After Apr 30Late applications accepted until the appraisal roll certifies, with a 10% penalty on that year's savings.
ReportingAnnual PWD‑888 required by March 1; missing it removes the agricultural value. Keep dated logs and photographs as you go.

Burnet Central Appraisal District is in Burnet, and its number is 512-756-8291. Confirm details before filing; districts adjust procedures year to year.

Last locally verified August 30, 2026

The cost of letting it slip

Losing qualification means market-value taxes going forward - and if the land's use changes to non-agricultural, rollback taxes: the previous three years of tax savings, recaptured in one bill. On typical Burnet County acreage that's easily five figures. How rollback works →

Burnet County questions

Burnet County wildlife exemption FAQ

The questions Burnet County landowners ask most - answered against this county’s appraisal district and the Edwards Plateau standards its plans are judged by.

How many acres do you need for a wildlife exemption in Burnet County?
For most tracts, there is no minimum at all. Burnet County applies no acreage test to wildlife management use unless your tract was reduced in size since January 1 of the preceding year. If it was, the Burnet County appraisal district applies the figure it has adopted: 14.3 acres. A tract that was never split can convert at any size, so long as it already carries a 1‑d‑1 (ag exempt) valuation. Source: Burnet Central Appraisal District AG Manual, October 3, 2019.
What is the wildlife exemption filing deadline in Burnet County?
April 30. The window opens January 1 and closes April 30 - file Comptroller Form 50‑129 with a TPWD PWD‑885 wildlife management plan attached at the Burnet County appraisal district in Burnet. Miss it and the district still accepts a late application until the appraisal roll certifies (typically mid-July), but with a 10% penalty on that year’s tax savings. One trap catches new owners every year: buying land that already holds the valuation does not carry it over to you - you have to file your own application.
Do I need an existing ag exemption to get a wildlife exemption in Burnet County?
Yes. Wildlife management is a qualifying use within the 1-d-1 open-space valuation, not a separate exemption - so the land has to already carry an agricultural or timber productivity valuation on the day you convert. If it does, converting changes the qualifying activity and nothing else: the productivity value carries over from your previous ag category, so your tax bill does not move. If the land lost its valuation, you would requalify the ordinary way first - agricultural use for 5 of the preceding 7 years - and then convert. The conversion playbook →
Which wildlife management practices qualify in Burnet County?
Any three of the seven named in Texas Tax Code §23.51(7): habitat control, erosion control, predator control, supplemental water, supplemental food, providing shelter, and census counts. The list is statewide, but the standard you are judged against is regional - Burnet County is Edwards Plateau country, so the Burnet County appraisal district expects work sized to Edwards Plateau intensity levels and aimed at the problems that actually limit wildlife here: juniper (cedar) encroachment, overbrowsing by high deer densities, and declining spring flows. Habitat control, supplemental water, and census counts are the most common opening three. See what each one looks like here →
What species should a Burnet County wildlife management plan target?
Whatever you name, it has to be indigenous - Texas Tax Code §23.51(7) qualifies land used to sustain a breeding, migrating, or wintering population of native wild animals, and that is the species test that actually decides qualification. In the Edwards Plateau, plans are usually built around white-tailed deer, Rio Grande turkey, bobwhite quail, black-capped vireo, golden-cheeked warbler, and a wide range of native songbirds and pollinators. The Edwards Plateau supports some of the densest white-tailed deer populations in North America - often exceeding one deer per 8–10 acres - which makes census counts and habitat management especially meaningful here. Introduced species are the common trap: exotics like axis deer or blackbuck may live on the property, but managing for them (alone) earns you nothing toward your three practices - so confirm every species you name in the plan is native to Texas before you file.
Does Burnet County require a PWD-888 annual report every year?
The chief appraiser may require one whenever they ask - that is the statutory standard, and many Texas districts ask annually or on a review cycle. The practical answer is to assume it is coming: keep dated records, photos, and quantities for every practice as you go, and the report is a formality instead of a scramble. Landowners rarely lose a valuation because the work was not done; they lose it because the work could not be proven. What a strong PWD‑888 looks like →
Will switching from cattle to wildlife trigger rollback taxes in Burnet County?
No. Rollback under Texas Tax Code §23.55 is triggered by a change to a non-agricultural use - developing, paving, or subdividing the land. Moving from grazing to wildlife management is a change of use within 1-d-1, so the valuation continues uninterrupted and no recapture is owed. What does carry risk is letting the land go idle: land quietly used for nothing agricultural can be treated as having changed use. A documented wildlife plan is precisely how you stay out of that gray zone. How rollback works →
Who approves the wildlife exemption in Burnet County - TPWD or the appraisal district?
The appraisal district. The Burnet County appraisal district’s chief appraiser reviews your Form 50‑129 and PWD‑885 plan and decides whether the land qualifies, the same as for any agricultural application. Texas Parks & Wildlife publishes the forms and the ecoregion guidelines your plan should match, but it does not approve individual properties and has no vote on your valuation. The district is headquartered in Burnet; current contact details are in the Texas Comptroller’s county directory.

Looking for the statewide picture? The full Texas wildlife exemption FAQ covers eligibility, plans, practices, reports, and rollback in depth.

The Edwards Plateau counties closest to Burnet County - same ecoregion, same intensity standards, and largely the same ground:

Llano CountyBlanco CountyTravis CountySan Saba CountyHays CountyGillespie County All 254 counties
Rio Grande wild turkey and northern bobwhite quail among native Texas grasses and limestone

Protect your Burnet County valuation.

Bring your previous report and field records. Keep this year’s practices, county feedback, and next PWD‑888 together.

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