JULY 2016, TEXAS — Tomahawk CB, LLC, an LPCC and RiverBank Conservation, LLC partnership, closed the nation’s first free market based Lesser Prairie Chicken (LPC) conservation credit sale in July. The Tomahawk Conservation Bank (“Tomahawk”) transaction permanently protected 1,535-acres of native rangeland in Yoakum County, Texas. As a result, the LPC will always have protected and managed habitat, and two families will forever keep their ranches intact while preserving their agricultural uses and character.
Kirk Williams, a member of the Williams Family Ranch stated, “As a third generation steward of our land, the conservation easement for the LPC is a great way to provide habitat for the LPC and improve livestock grazing potential over time. It allows for the continued ownership and careful use of the land with safeguards for the future. ”
Tomahawk’s conservation easements are held by Texas Agricultural Land Trust (TALT) of San Antonio, Texas. TALT’s mission is to “conserve the Texas heritage of agricultural lands, wildlife habitats and natural resources”. TALT is also holding Tomahawk’s non-wasting endowment to fund the conservation bank’s long-term management plan. These funds will ensure LPC habitat is monitored and managed in perpetuity to maximize its benefit for the species.
Future sales from the Tomahawk Conservation Bank will fund the protection and partial restoration of an additional 1200 acres on these two historic Texas ranches.