Archaeological and Historic Sites: Non-Renewable Resources Worth Protecting

Historic sites, whether 8,000 years old or the remains of a historic ranching settlement, are the places on our landscape that allow us to tell the story about the people who depended on and loved Texas land before us. The natural resources that draw us to the land today were also crucial to the survival of native Indian tribes, early frontiersmen, and the ranching industry that later emerged. The structures, sites, and discarded objects that these early Texans left behind constitute our historic sites, the places on our landscape that preserve Texas heritage and Texas history.  

Preservation of historic sites is an important way for us to transmit our understanding of the past to future generations and enable them the opportunity to use scientific advancements to gain an even better understanding of the past than we have today. This can only be done when these important places on our landscape are preserved for the future.  

Historic sites are depletable, non-renewable resources and, like our open spaces, they are being lost at a rapid rate to development and the break-up of family lands. Since there are no broad legal protections for historic resources on private land in Texas, the responsibility for ensuring that these special places are protected falls to our landowners.  Luckily, many people in our state take great pride in preserving these historic resources for future generations.  In fact, in Texas, where 95% of the land is privately owned, conservation-minded landowners are the best stewards of our state’s heritage.

Voluntary protective historic designations, such as StateAntiquities Landmarks, can provide landowners with a measure of protection for historic places.  However, these protections apply only to the historic site itself, often neglecting its place and connection with the broader landscape. This approach fails to recognize that sites are intertwined with their natural settings and that the people who left behind these signs of daily life were there because of the abundant resources that we now enjoy.  

Increasingly, conservation strategies and the solutions offered by land trusts around the state are providing better alternatives.  Conservation easements allow landowners the opportunity to preserve native and historic landscapes – both natural and cultural.  When historic sites are included in conservation easements and baseline documentation, these important conservation tools offer benefits above and beyond historic designations alone.  

Conservation easements have become some of the best tools we have for long term preservation of historic sites and heritage landscapes while at the same time protecting habitat, water, and wide-open spaces!