A Resource Inventory and Development Strategy

Whenever the Texas Panhandle is mentioned, wheat fields and featureless prairies are the first images to appear to most Texans. Yet the eastern counties of the Panhandle, known collectively as the Rolling Plains, more resemble the "Wild West" than does the west itself. Dominated by a series of eastern-flowing prairie rivers (the Canadian, the Prairie Dog Fork of the Red River, as well as minor tributaries such as the Salt and North Forks of the Red River and the Washita), the landscape has been reworked and reshaped over the eons by the inexorable force of flowing water. These rivers have gouged spectacular canyons, gorges, draws, and valleys through this land, depositing the residue in expansive sand hills and broad riverbeds.

Not suitable for the irrigated agriculture so prevalent in the central and western Panhandle, the land in the Texas Prairie Rivers region is primarily devoted to cattle. This is ranch country, and (combined with oil and gas production) cattle provide a critically important economic base for the region. Since much of this land has never been plowed, these ranches also offer a rich variety of natural habitats that support an impressive biota.

In 1998, the counties in the eastern Texas Panhandle took the initiative to use these intrinsic nature resources through sustainable travel and tourism. The initial planning group chose to band together as the Texas Prairie Rivers Initiative, and included the following Texas counties within this initiative:

• Armstrong
• Briscoe
• Carson
• Childress
• Collingsworth
• Donley
• Gray
• Hall
• Hansford
• Hemphill
• Hutchinson
• Lipscomb
• Ochiltree
• Roberts
• Wheeler

The mission of the Texas Prairie Rivers Initiative is to use nature and cultural tourism to enhance economic development and preserve the traditional rural lifestyle. The goals of this fledgling organization include:

• Stabilize the local community population
• Broaden and expand the regional economic base
• Develop a local pride of place
• Use tourism to maintain traditional lifestyles
• Enhance the regional quality of life
• Promote regional cooperation
• Increase awareness of the value of the region's cultural and natural resources
• Develop a financial incentive for resource conservation

After the initial planning meetings (conducted in November 1998), a series of critical steps were identified that would be necessary for the development of the tourism initiative. The basic structure of the Texas Prairie Rivers Initiative (TPRI) strategic plan is as follows:

General Categories for TPRI Strategic Plan

V. Advocacy

After the basic structure of the strategic plan had been agreed upon, the Texas Prairie Rivers Initiative identified several steps that would need to be taken in order to implement the strategy. These implementation steps include:

1. Name initial ad hoc planning committee
2. Formalize organization (Texas Prairie Rivers Consortium)
3. Develop resource inventory
4. Develop initial strategic plan and outreach materials
5. Determine immediate funding needs (steps two and three)
6. Develop funding strategy
7. Develop advocacy strategy
8. Develop initial communication and education materials
9. Conduct public meetings
10. Develop system of review and revision
    

Of these ten implementation steps, steps one and two have been completed. This report represents the completion of step three, with recommendations that will contribute to the completion of steps four through ten.

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