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AGENCY REPORT FOR TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT Gary P. Garrett Texas Parks and Wildlife Department HOH Research Station Ingram, Texas 78025 The commissioners of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) have appointed a new Executive Director, Andy Sansom. Before coming to TPWD, Mr. Sansom was State Director for the Texas Nature Conservancy. In addition to retaining most of our current programs, Mr. Sansom plans to institute a program to educate and encourage private land owners to practice conservation. He will also develop methods to increase availability of public lands for non-consumptive use (e.g., hiking & photography). Under Andy Sansom's guidance, the TPWD has been buying land that preserves unique ecosystems and hopefully this will continue. Some recent land acquisitions should benefit Texas desert fishes and some desert riparian systems. The TPWD has purchased the Big Bend Ranch State Natural Area which consists of 120,000 hectares (with mineral rights) west of Big Bend National Park. It borders the Rio Grande and contains several springs and most of the Alamito Creek drainage. Plans are to retain this as a natural area with limited tourist impact. This natural area should provide varying degrees of protection for several state threatened species: Campostoma ornatum (Mexican stoneroller), Notropis chihuahua (Chihuahua shiner), Cyprinodon eximius (Conchos pupfish), and Etheostoma grahami (Rio Grande darter). Another recent acquisition by TPWD was the Devils River State Natural Area. It covers 8,000 hectares, contains several springs, including Dolan Springs and upper Dolan Creek, and 5 kilometers of the Devils River. The TPWD also plans to keep this a natural area with limited tourist impact. It should provide varying degrees of protection for several state threatened and endangered species: Dionda diaboli (Devils River minnow), Cyprinella Proserpina (proserpine shiner), Cyprinodon eximius ssp., maybe Gambusia senilis (blotched gambusia) and Etheostoma grahami. The Devils River State Natural Area contains one of the larger concentrations (sometimes) of D. diaboli. Dolan Creek is the location where Clark Hubbs and some others of us reestablished the Devils River subspecies of C. eximius and it now probably has the largest population of this subspecies. Although about half of their natural range is now gone, at least part of what is left is protected. The Texas Nature Conservancy recently purchased Diamond Y Spring and part of Leon Creek. Their holding consists of 600 hectares, north of Fort Stockton and there will be very limited access to the public. This area is home to the once-thought-to- 4