WhitetailedDeer_A3BillionDollarIndustry_Langford_David_SanAntonio_13February2006_Reel2327.mp3

David Langford [00:00:02] The major income producer is hunting in Texas. And it's, it is over a $3 billion industry in Texas.

David Langford [00:00:11] And it is one of those tools that keeps the asphalt at bay. It keeps the land intact. It generates income to pay estate taxes with, to pay property taxes with.

David Langford [00:00:25] It's also, if you're going to have a good hunting operation, you got to have a good habitat operation. Hunting doesn't happen out there at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

David Langford [00:00:37] I mean, it's got to be, you know, has to be a pretty good place for natural resources in order for quality hunting to occur, for which you can receive a great deal of revenue.

David Langford [00:00:49] And it is, it's what keeps the rural economy going in Texas, is agriculture and nature tourism, which is mainly hunting.

David Langford [00:01:02] Now, listen. Some of the hunting leases are going for ten, 15, 20, 25 dollars an acre and that's net net, net net net. That's $20 an acre for the combination to the gate that lets you in.

David Langford [00:01:19] You got, I don't know what kind of, forms of agriculture where you can net 20 dollars an acre, but if it is not a major source of income for most of the agricultural operations, most of the grazing lands' agricultural operations, if it is not the major source of income, it has got to be a big percentage of it.

David Langford [00:01:40] And just, just for the difference, not long ago, a couple of years ago, my wife and I drove through up there in the Midwest. Listen, those states are closed. Those little old rural towns are shut down. I mean, their, the storefronts are boarded up. The streets all got chug holes in them. The, there's no pay telephones, there's no Stop & Gos. I mean, it is absolutely, they're just closed.

David Langford [00:02:09] You go, you go around to the smaller towns of Texas - you go to Brady, go to Freer, go to Comfort. Go to those, go to those small towns. They're all thriving. And it's because of hunting and that other forms of nature tourism. They're keeping, they're keeping that rural economy out there in, in a much more vibrant state.

David Langford [00:02:32] So but let me tell you, hunting equals habitat, to start with. And hunting equals economic development, number two.

David Langford [00:02:39] So it's, it is, it is of vital importance to rural Texas.