The wildlife exemption in Concho County
The wildlife exemption lets Concho County landowners hold on to their 1-d-1 agricultural valuation - and its tax savings - by managing land for native species like white-tailed deer and Rio Grande turkey. Because the county sits in the Edwards Plateau, TPWD's regional standards for that ecoregion set the bar your plan is judged against.
The Edwards Plateau - the Texas Hill Country - is a limestone tableland of live oak and ashe juniper savannah, cut by spring-fed creeks and steep canyons. Decades of overgrazing and juniper encroachment have degraded native grasslands here, which is exactly why wildlife management practices like brush control and native grass restoration carry so much weight with appraisal districts in this region.
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. Typical target species for Concho County plans include white-tailed deer, Rio Grande turkey, bobwhite quail, black-capped vireo, golden-cheeked warbler, and a wide range of native songbirds and pollinators. The recurring habitat challenges - juniper (cedar) encroachment, overbrowsing by high deer densities, and declining spring flows - are what a good management plan turns into qualifying work.
On the ground in Concho County
Paint Rock sits on the Concho River in country that feels like the western edge of the plateau sliding into the Rolling Plains: limestone, mesquite, grass, broad drainages and a fading sheep-and-goat tradition. That transition gives Concho County wildlife plans several practical levers. Water developments, erosion work, native-grass recovery and selective brush treatment can improve habitat without trying to make dry range grow like Central Texas pasture. A wildlife exemption in Concho County is strongest when the plan follows the ranch’s actual grass, brush and drainage pattern.
Concho County reads as Edwards Plateau habitat on the ground, but TPWD assigns it to the Rolling Plains wildlife-use appraisal region for reduced-tract acreage rules - two different maps, and the legal one controls the numbers below.
Is there an acreage minimum in Concho County?
Did the tract get smaller since January 1 of last year?
There is no wildlife acreage test in Concho 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.
The Concho County appraisal district has not published its exact figure. However, the legal minimum land requirement for this county in the Rolling Plains region is between 25–50 acres (96–98%). If your acreage is inside of this range, we recommend to file the plan either way; the county will apply whatever they adopted.
One local wrinkle. The Concho County appraisal district publishes a 94% wildlife floor in its own standards, but that figure is below the Rolling Plains band, and the document is undated - so it reads as a district practice note rather than the reduced-tract test itself. Don’t conclude from it that a split tract under 25 acres can’t qualify, or that an unsplit tract can’t convert. See the district’s document.
See how Concho County compares: minimum acreage for all 254 Texas counties →
How it works here
Concho 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 Concho 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, Concho 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, Edwards Plateau-style
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.
