Documentation

Compliance Architecture

This document describes how Thorpe Land Services produces wildlife management plans and constraint analyses. It details the data sources, validation rules, and statutory frameworks that govern every deliverable. This page is updated when methodology changes.

Last updated: April 2026

Governing Standards

The system is constrained by the following statutes, administrative rules, and agency forms. These are not configurable. They define the boundaries within which every deliverable is assembled.

Tex. Tax Code § 23.51

Agricultural Appraisal

Defines qualification criteria for 1-d-1 open-space land appraisal. The system validates that a parcel meets threshold requirements before plan assembly.

Tex. Tax Code § 23.521

Wildlife Management

Authorizes wildlife management as a qualifying use for agricultural appraisal. The system structures every plan to satisfy the statutory elements of this section.

Tex. Tax Code § 23.55

Rollback Tax

Defines the five-year rollback penalty and 7% interest rate for disqualification. The system flags rollback exposure in constraint outputs.

34 TAC § 9.2002

Ecoregion Standards

Establishes the 12 Texas ecoregions and their associated practice intensity standards. The system assigns ecoregion by geographic intersection, not user selection.

TPWD Form PWD-885

Wildlife Management Plan

The official plan form required by county appraisal districts. The system produces deliverables that map directly to the PWD-885 field structure.

TPWD Form PWD-888

Annual Report

The annual compliance documentation form. The system tracks practice completion and prepares PWD-888 submissions for each plan year.

Data Sources and Freshness

Every deliverable is assembled from the following data sources. Refresh cycles and validation dates are published here so that downstream reviewers can assess data currency.

SourceDatasetCoverageRefreshValidated
TPWD RTESTSpecies-county occurrence records254 counties, 18,111 entriesQuarterlyQ1 2026
NRCS WSSSoil map units, drainage, erosion hazardAll TX countiesOn-demand per requestQ1 2026
TNRIS NAIPHistorical aerial imageryStatewide, 2004 to 2024BiennialQ4 2025
FEMA NFHLFlood zones, floodways, SFHA boundariesCounty-level GDBAnnualQ1 2026
Texas RRCActive wells, pipelines, permitsStatewide shapefilesWeeklyQ1 2026
USGS NED1-meter Digital Elevation ModelsStatewideStatic (updated on republication)Q4 2025
USFWSCritical habitat designationsStatewide shapefileAnnualQ1 2026
PhyloPicTaxonomic silhouette illustrations141 cached speciesOn-demandQ1 2026
County CADsParcel boundaries and ownership254 counties (coverage varies)Per-requestPer-request
TWDBGCD boundaries, aquifer availabilityStatewideAnnualQ1 2026
PUCTransmission line locationsStatewideAnnualQ1 2026
FAAAirport noise contours, flight pathsTX airportsAnnualQ4 2025

Constraint Validation Rules

Every parcel is evaluated against 18 constraint rules before plan assembly. Each rule follows a conditional trigger: when a spatial or regulatory condition is detected, the system records the constraint and cites its governing authority.

  1. 01When a property boundary intersects a pipeline with diameter exceeding 16 inches, the system flags a 660-foot statutory setback zone.

    Authority: Texas Railroad Commission

  2. 02When a property falls within a FEMA-designated regulatory floodway, the system records a development prohibition.

    Authority: 44 CFR 60.3(d)

  3. 03When a property contains or adjoins an unplugged well, the system flags potential plugging liability exceeding $100,000.

    Authority: Texas Natural Resources Code Chapter 89

  4. 04When a property intersects the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone, the system flags a 20% impervious cover cap.

    Authority: 30 TAC Chapter 213

  5. 05When a structure falls within 1,500 feet of an H2S-producing well, the system flags a blast zone exclusion for schools and hospitals.

    Authority: Railroad Commission Rule 36

  6. 06When a property intersects USFWS-designated critical habitat, the system flags ESA Section 7 consultation requirements.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. § 1536

  7. 07When slope exceeds 15% across more than 25% of the parcel, the system flags a steep slope constraint for development.

    Authority: Local subdivision ordinances (county-specific)

  8. 08When a property falls within a transmission line easement, the system flags habitable structure restrictions.

    Authority: Public Utility Commission of Texas

  9. 09When a property intersects a Groundwater Conservation District with export restrictions, the system flags water export limitations.

    Authority: Texas Water Code Chapter 36

  10. 10When a property boundary falls within an FAA noise contour exceeding 65 DNL, the system flags residential use restrictions.

    Authority: 14 CFR Part 150

  11. 11When a property intersects a mapped WUI zone, the system flags wildland-urban interface fire risk.

    Authority: Texas A&M Forest Service WUI assessment

  12. 12When ERCOT interconnection queue shows active applications within 3 miles, the system flags potential energy infrastructure proximity.

    Authority: ERCOT Generation Interconnection Status

  13. 13When a property lacks a minimum of three qualifying management practices for the assigned ecoregion, the system flags plan non-compliance.

    Authority: Tex. Tax Code § 23.521(a)

  14. 14When census methodology does not match the species group, the system flags practice-species mismatch.

    Authority: 34 TAC § 9.2002

  15. 15When a practice intensity falls below the ecoregion minimum threshold, the system flags insufficient management effort.

    Authority: TPWD Comprehensive Wildlife Management Planning Guidelines

  16. 16When a property contains navigable waterways, the system flags public access and use restrictions.

    Authority: Texas Natural Resources Code § 21.001

  17. 17When a property is subject to ETJ and meets SB 2038 opt-out criteria, the system flags extraterritorial jurisdiction vulnerability.

    Authority: Senate Bill 2038 (88th Legislature)

  18. 18When a property lacks a current agricultural appraisal or has a gap exceeding three tax years, the system flags wildlife management ineligibility.

    Authority: Tex. Tax Code § 23.521(a)(1)

Species Intelligence

The system tracks 1,057 species across 254 Texas counties. Species-county presence is derived from the TPWD RTEST database, which documents 18,111 county-level occurrence records. Federal and state conservation status classifications are maintained for each species.

52 species carry hand-authored ecological profiles that include habitat descriptions, management implications specific to Texas ecoregions, recommended TPWD practices, and landowner guidance. The remaining species carry structured profiles derived from taxonomic group and conservation status.

Species recommendations are deterministic. They are derived from documented county-level presence data and ecoregion management standards encoded in 34 TAC Section 9.2002. The system does not generate, infer, or extrapolate species presence.

Decision Chain Example: Edwards Plateau Property

The following trace shows how a single practice recommendation is derived from sequential data queries. Each step has a defined input and a recorded output. The recommendation exists because this chain produced it, not because a model inferred it.

  1. 01
    Input: Property coordinates 30.4N, 97.8W, Williamson County, Texas.
  2. 02
    Ecoregion resolve: Geographic intersection against 34 TAC 9.2002 boundary polygons returns Edwards Plateau (Eastern). Minimum practice threshold: 3 of 7 categories.
  3. 03
    County species query: TPWD RTEST occurrence records for Williamson County return 136 documented species.
  4. 04
    Federal filter: ESA status filter (E, T, C) reduces to 24 species carrying federal listing.
  5. 05
    State filter: TPWD state listing filter returns 18 species carrying state designation.
  6. 06
    Ecoregion standards loaded: Edwards Plateau requires minimum 20% brush management, 1 food plot per 100 acres, 2 supplemental water sources per 100 acres.
  7. 07
    Target species constraint: Golden-cheeked warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia, Federal Endangered) documented in Williamson County. Requires mature Ashe juniper habitat. System flags selective management constraint: wholesale juniper clearing disqualifies warbler habitat and voids the practice credit.
  8. 08
    Output: Habitat Control pillar assigned. Brush management notation: juniper stands exceeding 8 inches DBH preserved per TPWD golden-cheeked warbler guidelines. Wholesale Ashe juniper clearing excluded from qualifying activity.

Ecoregion Determination

Texas contains 12 ecoregions as defined in 34 TAC Section 9.2002. Each ecoregion carries encoded intensity standards that specify minimum thresholds for brush management percentages, water source density, food plot density, and census methodology.

Ecoregion assignment is geographic. The system determines the ecoregion by intersecting the parcel centroid with TPWD ecoregion boundaries. The user does not select an ecoregion. This prevents misclassification and ensures that practice recommendations match the actual ecological context of the property.

Properties that span ecoregion boundaries receive a transition notation documenting both applicable ecoregions and their respective standards.

Plan Generation and Verification

Plan generation follows a four-phase pipeline. Phase 1 (Research) queries spatial databases, external APIs, and the species enrichment layer. Phase 2 (Synthesis) resolves conflicts, selects applicable pillars, and assembles the narrative. Phase 3 (Implementation) produces the prescription engine output, cost estimates, and filing calendar. Phase 4 (Verification) validates the assembled plan against compliance thresholds.

Automated compliance verification checks minimum practice thresholds (3 of 7 statutory pillars), ecoregion-specific intensity standards, and species-practice alignment. Plans that fail verification are held for review. They are not delivered.

Every deliverable includes a citation chain linking each claim to a source dataset and feature identifier.

Audit Trail

Every plan carries a generation timestamp, a data validation date, and a version identifier. Spatial query results are logged and reproducible for a given parcel and date.

Deliverables are formatted as business records. They satisfy the requirements of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) for digital record admissibility. They qualify as records under Federal Rules of Evidence Rule 803(6) (Business Records Exception) for proceedings where the plan must be entered as evidence, including county tax hearings and appraisal review board proceedings.

Immutable generation logs and digital provenance records are available upon request for contested filings.

Limitations

This system does not replace a licensed surveyor. Property boundaries used in spatial analysis are derived from county appraisal district parcel data, which may contain positional errors.

Species presence data reflects documented occurrences in the TPWD RTEST database. Absence from the database does not confirm absence from a property.

Soil data from NRCS reflects mapped survey units at published scales. Site-specific conditions may differ from published classifications.

Constraint analysis identifies known regulatory overlaps based on available spatial data. It does not constitute legal advice.

Data freshness varies by source. Refresh cycles and validation dates are documented in the Data Sources table above.

Flood zone determinations are based on FEMA NFHL data. A formal Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) may yield different results for specific parcels.

Pipeline and well locations are derived from Railroad Commission filings. Unreported or recently permitted facilities may not appear in the dataset.