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

Edwards Plateau Ecoregion

Kendall County Wildlife Exemption

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

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

The wildlife exemption in Kendall County

Kendall Appraisal District has a dedicated ag and wildlife appraiser. Its current staff directory lists Joel Villanueva as AG/Wildlife Appraiser III, and it publishes [email protected] for agricultural and wildlife questions. That is where a reduced-tract acreage question belongs, because KAD has not published a current figure of its own for the wildlife-use acreage test.

The harder problem in this county is fragmentation. Around Boerne and along the I-10 corridor, working ranches, ranchettes, conservation land and new development share the same creek corridors, oak woodland, prairie openings and movement routes, and every new fence line and driveway takes another bite out of them. On a smaller tract, keeping your cover connected to what the neighbors still have will usually do more for wildlife than pushing any one cover type as far as it will go.

Kendall County still holds the habitat that goes first when country gets divided up: Cibolo Creek with its live oak and cypress corridor, spring-fed marsh, and native prairie openings inside wooded limestone uplands, with the north end of the county draining toward the Guadalupe. On rougher slopes and draws, mature juniper-oak woodland is potential golden-cheeked warbler habitat and is often worth leaving intact.

On the ground in Kendall County

Boerne is no longer the edge of San Antonio, and Kendall County’s fast exurban growth is steadily breaking classic limestone Hill Country into smaller pieces. North and west of town, live oak, Ashe juniper, rocky drainages and Guadalupe-system cover still form strong habitat if they remain connected. Useful habitat work can use selective juniper reduction, native-grass recovery, riparian protection, water and deer or turkey census. A plan for Kendall County needs to treat connectivity as a wildlife management objective in its own right, not just improve isolated patches inside an increasingly subdivided landscape.

Kendall 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 Kendall County?

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

No ➔

There is no wildlife acreage test in Kendall 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 Kendall County appraisal district has not published its exact figure. However, the legal minimum land requirement for this county in the Edwards Plateau (Eastern) region is between 14.3–20 acres (93–95%). 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 Kendall County compares: minimum acreage for all 254 Texas counties →

Kendall has a dedicated ag/wildlife appraiser

KAD’s current staff directory lists Joel Villanueva as AG/Wildlife Appraiser III, and the district publishes [email protected] for agricultural and wildlife questions. Its forms page carries the 1-d-1 agricultural application (Form 50‑129), the Texas Parks and Wildlife management plan (PWD‑885), and the wildlife management annual report (PWD‑888).

KAD publishes no current rule requiring every approved wildlife property to send in a PWD‑888 each year. Having the form posted does not by itself create a filing requirement, so ask the ag/wildlife appraiser what the district wants from your account. Either way, keep the annual record as you go: dates, locations, photos, receipts or logs, and results.

How it works here

Kendall 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 Kendall 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, Kendall 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 Kendall 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 Kendall CountyCommonly Recommended

Habitat control

Connectivity comes first here. Keep creek and riparian cover, oak woodland and native prairie openings tied to each other and to the habitat across the fence, and treat that as the objective rather than a clearing target. On a fragmented tract, a corridor wildlife can move through is worth more than another few acres of opened ground.

Commonly Recommended in Kendall CountyCommonly Recommended

Census counts

Cameras, bird and pollinator counts, vegetation transects and browse observations all fit here, and on a small tract they earn their keep by showing which corridors and cover types are being used. Run the same stations the same way each year so the record shows a trend.

Commonly Recommended in Kendall CountyCommonly Recommended

Providing shelter

Retain live-oak and juniper woodland, cypress and other riparian structure where present, snags and downed wood, and grass structure suited to the species in your plan. Brush piles from selective clearing count, and a pile placed where it extends an existing corridor does more than one dropped in the middle of an opening.

Erosion control

The usual problems are Cibolo and Guadalupe tributary banks, spring runs, ranch-road runoff, steep limestone slopes and active headcuts. Map each project and photograph the same spot before and after so the work ties back to a specific erosion site.

Supplemental water

Protect springs and creek margins, and fit existing troughs and tanks with escape ramps so wildlife can use them safely. Adding upland water holds up where habitat use is limited by distance to water and is much harder to defend on a tract already sitting on a perennial creek.

Predator control

Document feral-hog work where rooting is tearing up riparian ground, springs or prairie openings. Name the target species and the reason for the control instead of logging generic predator removal.

Supplemental food

Restore native forbs and seed-producing plants in the prairie openings before defaulting to a planted plot. Where a plot does make sense, put it on ground with enough soil depth to carry it and map the location.

Filing & the appraisal district

DateWhat happens in Kendall 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 Kendall County appraisal district (Boerne).
After Apr 30Late applications accepted until the appraisal roll certifies, with a 10% penalty on that year's savings.
ReportingKAD publishes no annual PWD‑888 requirement; the form is on the district’s forms page. Keep dated logs and photographs as you go.

Kendall Appraisal District is in Boerne, and its number is 830-249-8012. 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 Kendall County acreage that's easily five figures. How rollback works →

Kendall County questions

Kendall County wildlife exemption FAQ

The questions Kendall 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 Kendall County?
For most tracts, there is no minimum at all. Kendall 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 Kendall County appraisal district applies one figure it has adopted from the band its TPWD wildlife appraisal region carries - Kendall County sits in the Edwards Plateau (Eastern) region, whose legal minimum land requirement for this county runs 14.3–20 acres (93–95%). 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 Kendall 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 Kendall County appraisal district in Boerne. 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 Kendall 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 Kendall 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 - Kendall County is Edwards Plateau country, so the Kendall 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 Kendall 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 Kendall 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 Kendall 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 Kendall County - TPWD or the appraisal district?
The appraisal district. The Kendall 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 Boerne; 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 Kendall County - same ecoregion, same intensity standards, and largely the same ground:

Comal CountyBlanco CountyGillespie CountyBandera CountyBexar CountyKerr County All 254 counties
Rio Grande wild turkey and northern bobwhite quail among native Texas grasses and limestone

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