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Minimum acreage for a Texas wildlife valuation

Updated November 1, 2026 · by Adam McLaughlin

There's no minimum acreage for most wildlife management land. A minimum only applies when a tract has been made smaller, for example when land is split, sold off or divided among heirs.

When the minimum applies

• Your tract is the same size or bigger than it was on January 1 of the previous tax year: no wildlife use requirement applies.
• Your tract got smaller: the appraisal district applies a "wildlife use requirement" for your region, which works out to a minimum number of acres.
• Exception: a tract that has qualified continuously since the 2002 tax year and is at least as big as it was on January 1, 2009 is exempt from the requirement.

Adjacent tracts with the same owner count as one tract.

The minimum by region

The rule is a percentage, (acres − 1) ÷ acres, and each appraisal district picks a figure inside its region's range. Turned into acres, that's roughly:

Tracts in a wildlife management property association, or in areas TPWD designates as habitat for endangered, threatened or candidate species, use lower ranges, so smaller tracts can qualify. Your appraisal district tells you which figure it uses. TPWD also publishes a map of appraisal regions by county (PDF).

More guides: How to file the annual report (PWD-888) · The 7 wildlife practices, with examples · Writing your wildlife plan (PWD-885) · Converting ag to wildlife · Rollback taxes explained

Sources

• 34 Texas Administrative Code §9.2005, Wildlife Use Requirement
• TPWD: Tax valuation for wildlife management FAQ
• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension: Wildlife Management as Agricultural Use for Property Tax Valuation in Texas (SCS-2010-03)

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Your appraisal district's adopted figure applies.

Common questions

Is there a minimum acreage for a Texas wildlife exemption?

Only when the tract has been made smaller since January 1 of the previous tax year. Otherwise there is no minimum acreage for wildlife management use.

How is the minimum calculated?

The wildlife use requirement is (acres minus 1) divided by acres. Each appraisal district picks a percentage within its region's range, for example 92 to 94 percent in the Blackland Prairie, which works out to about 12.5 to 16.7 acres.