Wildlife Exemption in Rusk County, Texas

Rusk County is located in the Pineywoods ecoregion of Texas. Property owners in Rusk County with an approved 1-D-1 wildlife management plan must file a Wildlife Management Annual Report (PWD-888 form) with the Rusk County Central Appraisal District each year to maintain their wildlife exemption and avoid rollback taxes.

Wildlife Exemption Requirements in Rusk County

To maintain a wildlife management tax valuation in Rusk County, property owners must:

• Have an approved TPWD Wildlife Management Plan (PWD-885) on file with the Rusk County Appraisal District
• Perform at least 3 of 7 qualifying wildlife management practices each year
• Document activities with dates, descriptions, photos, and GPS coordinates
• Submit the 1-D-1 Open Space Agricultural Valuation Wildlife Management Annual Report (PWD-888) between January 1 and April 30

The 7 Wildlife Management Practices for Rusk County

Property owners in the Pineywoods ecoregion can choose from these TPWD-approved wildlife management practices. You must actively perform at least 3 each year:

• Habitat Control — Brush management, prescribed burning, native grass seeding, grazing management
• Erosion Control — Terracing, vegetative buffers, reseeding bare areas, trail management
• Predator Control — Feral hog trapping, coyote management, egg predator control
• Supplemental Water — Wildlife-friendly stock tanks, guzzlers, drip systems, spring management
• Supplemental Food — Food plots, wildlife feeders, mineral licks
• Supplemental Shelter — Nest boxes, brush piles, rock structures, dead snag preservation
• Census Counts — Spotlight surveys, trail camera monitoring, point counts, breeding surveys

TPWD provides specific intensity guidelines for each practice in the Pineywoods ecoregion. WildComply includes these benchmarks in the activity logger so you can ensure your efforts meet or exceed the recommended levels for Rusk County properties.

Rusk County Appraisal District Contact Information

What Happens If You Don't File in Rusk County?

If you fail to submit your wildlife exemption annual report to the Rusk County Appraisal District, or if your documentation is incomplete, the county can revoke your wildlife management tax valuation and impose rollback taxes — typically 3 to 5 years of the difference between agricultural productivity value and full market value. The Rusk County Appraisal District also has the legal right to request annual reports for the previous five years.

Other Counties in the Pineywoods Ecoregion