Illustrated East Texas Pineywoods with tall pines, a shaded slough and white-tailed deer.

Pineywoods Ecoregion

Houston County Wildlife Exemption

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

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

The wildlife exemption in Houston County

The wildlife exemption lets Houston 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 eastern wild turkey. Because the county sits in the Pineywoods, TPWD's regional standards for that ecoregion set the bar your plan is judged against.

The Pineywoods of East Texas is a landscape of loblolly and shortleaf pine uplands, hardwood bottoms, and creek sloughs. Many properties here transition from timber production (1-d-1 timber use) to wildlife management, and practices tend to focus on forest structure - thinning, openings, and midstory control that let sunlight reach the forest floor.

Deer densities in the Pineywoods are moderate but rising, and eastern wild turkey restoration is a major TPWD priority - habitat work for turkeys is well received on management plans in this region. Typical target species for Houston County plans include white-tailed deer, eastern wild turkey, wood ducks, gray squirrels, and neotropical migrant songbirds. The recurring habitat challenges - closed-canopy pine stands with little understory forage, invasive Chinese tallow, and feral hogs in creek bottoms - are what a good management plan turns into qualifying work.

On the ground in Houston County

Houston County - not Houston the city - is classic Pineywoods farm-and-timber country around Crockett, with pine-hardwood forest, pasture, wooded creeks and large forest blocks near Davy Crockett National Forest. The habitat work can be integrated directly into forestry through thinning, prescribed fire, retention of mast-producing hardwoods, native openings and streamside protection. The local wildlife plan should show how timber and habitat decisions reinforce one another, with deer, turkey or bird census tied to changes in understory, openings and creek cover.

Houston County lies in the Pineywoods and is assigned to TPWD's Pineywoods wildlife-use appraisal region - the legal map that sets the reduced-tract acreage rule below.

Is there an acreage minimum in Houston County?

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

No ➔

There is no wildlife acreage test in Houston 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 Houston County appraisal district has not published its exact figure. However, the legal minimum land requirement for this county in the Pineywoods region is between 12.5–16.7 acres (92–94%). If your acreage is inside of this range, we recommend to file the plan either way; the county will apply whatever they adopted.

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

How it works here

Houston 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 Pineywoods 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 Houston 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 Pineywoods 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, Houston 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, Pineywoods-style

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

1

Habitat control

Thinning pine stands to 50–60 sq ft of basal area, creating forest openings of 1–5 acres, controlling Chinese tallow and privet, and prescribed burning on a 3-year rotation.

2

Erosion control

Establishing streamside management zones along creeks, water bars on woods roads, and re-vegetating log landings and skid trails.

3

Predator control

Feral hog trapping in bottomlands, nest predator management (raccoons, opossums) around turkey and wood duck nesting habitat, and cowbird control.

4

Supplemental water

Constructing shallow seasonal wetlands, protecting sloughs and beaver ponds, and adding wildlife ramps to ponds.

5

Supplemental food

Planting fall food plots of wheat and clover in forest openings, releasing native oaks from pine competition to boost acorn production, and managing soft-mast species like American beautyberry.

6

Providing shelter

Retaining snag trees for cavity nesters, installing wood duck boxes on sloughs, and keeping brushy edge cover along openings.

7

Census counts

Trail camera deer surveys in late summer, gobbler call counts in spring, and browse surveys on greenbrier and other key deer forage.

Filing & the appraisal district

DateWhat happens in Houston 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 Houston County appraisal district (Crockett).
After Apr 30Late applications accepted until the appraisal roll certifies, with a 10% penalty on that year's savings.
On requestThe chief appraiser may require a PWD‑888 annual report - many districts ask annually. Keep logs so the answer is one click away.

The Houston County appraisal district is headquartered in Crockett. For current mailing addresses, phone numbers, and any locally adopted wildlife-use ratio, use the Texas Comptroller's county directory - and confirm details before filing; districts occasionally adjust procedures year to year.

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 Houston County acreage that's easily five figures. How rollback works →

Houston County questions

Houston County wildlife exemption FAQ

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

How many acres do you need for a wildlife exemption in Houston County?
For most tracts, there is no minimum at all. Houston 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 Houston County appraisal district applies one figure it has adopted from the band its TPWD wildlife appraisal region carries - Houston County sits in the Pineywoods region, whose legal minimum land requirement for this county runs 12.5–16.7 acres (92–94%). If your acreage is inside of this range, we recommend to file the application either way; the county will apply whatever they adopted.
What is the wildlife exemption filing deadline in Houston 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 Houston County appraisal district in Crockett. 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 Houston 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 Houston 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 - Houston County is Pineywoods country, so the Houston County appraisal district expects work sized to Pineywoods intensity levels and aimed at the problems that actually limit wildlife here: closed-canopy pine stands with little understory forage, invasive Chinese tallow, and feral hogs in creek bottoms. Habitat control, supplemental water, and census counts are the most common opening three. See what each one looks like here →
What species should a Houston 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 Pineywoods, plans are usually built around white-tailed deer, eastern wild turkey, wood ducks, gray squirrels, and neotropical migrant songbirds. Deer densities in the Pineywoods are moderate but rising, and eastern wild turkey restoration is a major TPWD priority - habitat work for turkeys is well received on management plans in this region. 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 Houston 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 Houston 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 Houston County - TPWD or the appraisal district?
The appraisal district. The Houston 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 Crockett; 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 Pineywoods counties closest to Houston County - same ecoregion, same intensity standards, and largely the same ground:

Trinity CountyCherokee CountyWalker CountyAngelina CountyPolk CountyNacogdoches County All 254 counties
Rio Grande wild turkey and northern bobwhite quail among native Texas grasses and limestone

Protect your Houston 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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