Your Land.
Your Legacy.
We work to empower landowners to preserve their working cattle ranches, farmland, and natural areas and support them in maintaining the natural legacy and ecological integrity of Texas.
Texas is home to some of the most diverse and ecologically rich landscapes in the country. The Texas Grasslands and Savannas Initiative (TGSI) and the Texas Coastal Prairie Initiative (TCPI) are two initiatives led by the Coastal Prairie Conservancy in collaboration with regional partners established to conserve the grasslands, savannas, coastal prairies, and wide-open spaces of Southeast Texas.
TGSI focuses on grasslands in a 16-county area in Southeast Texas (Austin, Brazoria, Colorado, Dewitt, Fayette, Fort Bend, Gonzalez, Grimes, Harris, Jackson, Lavaca, Matagorda, Montgomery, Waller, Washington, and Wharton).
TCPI focuses on wetlands, grasslands, and woodlands in a 13-county area on the Texas mid-coast (Austin, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Jackson, Matagorda, Victoria, Waller, and Wharton).
If you are a landowner within the 20 counties that are within the scope of one or both initiatives, please reach out to us and we will connect you to the program that fits your needs.
TWO INITIATIVES.
ONE GOAL.
How TGSI and TCPI work together to preserve Texas lands.
32
Partners
working together
20
Counties
in area of focus
$32
Million
for conservation
The Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is a partner-driven approach to conservation that funds solutions to natural resource challenges on agricultural land. By leveraging collective resources and collaborating on common goals, partners are able to work together in a region to protect local resources and address challenges for local landowners.
TGSI was established in 2024 as a complementary initiative to TCPI in order to conserve additional grassland habitat in areas that are under high development threat, and focuses on grazing lands that not only support local agricultural production but also sequester carbon and provide critical grassland bird habitat. TGSI received a $25 million RCPP award, and will provide funding for conservation easements and land management practices that improve soil health and grassland habitat.
TCPI was established in 2021 to protect habitat for the species that rely on the coastal prairie’s grasslands, wetlands, and woodlands, with a focus on lands that provide contiguous habitat needed to support this imperiled ecosystem. TCPI is funded by a $7 million RCPP award, which has provided support to partners and landowners who have agreed to work together to protect and restore the coastal prairie ecosystem. As of 2024, 4 landowners have been selected to receive funding to enter conservation easements, which will protect 3,339 acres, and 9 habitat management projects are being implemented, which will enhance habitat on 9,200 acres.
Both initiatives share a common goal of working with Texas landowners to protect and enhance their private lands.
HOW IT WORKS
Program at a Glance
We work to increase landowner awareness and accessibility to government funds to permanently protect working and natural lands through conservation easements.
We also provide funding to help landowners manage and enhance habitat on privately owned lands for the benefit of the grassland and wetland-dependent species that reside on the coastal prairie, such as the whooping crane, mottled duck, and western chicken turtle.
Conserving an Imperiled Ecosystem
Protection and enhancement of private lands benefits everyone from wildlife to communities to future generations.
Coastal prairies and grasslands offer opportunities for outdoor recreation, flood protection, water quality improvement, and local agriculture while also providing habitats and refuge for numerous species.
Communities can protect their quality of life by preserving strategic areas to sustain the coastal prairie ecosystem. If these lands are not protected now, the opportunity may soon be lost forever.