| 1 | 1 | | H.R. No. 2472 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 5 | | WHEREAS, The Railway Ranch, located near Odessa in Midland, |
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| 6 | 6 | | Crane, and Upton Counties, has been selected as a 2009 recipient of |
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| 7 | 7 | | the Lone Star Land Steward Award; and |
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| 8 | 8 | | WHEREAS, Presented by the Texas Parks and Wildlife |
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| 9 | 9 | | Department, this accolade recognizes private landowners for |
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| 10 | 10 | | excellence in habitat management and wildlife conservation; the |
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| 11 | 11 | | Railway Ranch won the award as a representative of the Trans-Pecos |
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| 12 | 12 | | ecoregion; and |
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| 13 | 13 | | WHEREAS, Co-owned by Marvin and Estee Smith and their son and |
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| 14 | 14 | | daughter-in-law, Stan and Ann Smith, who also manage the property, |
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| 15 | 15 | | the Railway Ranch features a great diversity of vegetation and |
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| 16 | 16 | | wildlife, owing to the influence of the Trans-Pecos, High Plains, |
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| 17 | 17 | | and Edwards Plateau ecological areas; and |
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| 18 | 18 | | WHEREAS, The Smith family has been restoring rangelands and |
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| 19 | 19 | | improving wildlife habitat through brush management and water |
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| 20 | 20 | | development projects for more than 30 years; during that time, they |
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| 21 | 21 | | have treated 13,000 acres of creosote and tarbush and 1,600 acres of |
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| 22 | 22 | | mesquite, sunk 11 water wells, built 22 cement storage tanks, and |
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| 23 | 23 | | installed 25 miles of cross fencing; these efforts have helped to |
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| 24 | 24 | | support a traditional livestock operation, a nature tourism |
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| 25 | 25 | | enterprise, and a wildlife management program that focuses on mule |
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| 26 | 26 | | deer and whitetail deer, scaled and bobwhite quail, and turkeys; |
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| 27 | 27 | | and |
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| 28 | 28 | | WHEREAS, Longtime leaders in the sound management of natural |
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| 29 | 29 | | resources, the Smith family is committed to protecting the rich |
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| 30 | 30 | | array of flora and fauna at the Railway Ranch, and in so doing they |
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| 31 | 31 | | are helping to preserve the extraordinary natural heritage of the |
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| 32 | 32 | | Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it |
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| 33 | 33 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
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| 34 | 34 | | Legislature hereby honor the Railway Ranch on its receipt of a 2009 |
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| 35 | 35 | | Lone Star Land Steward Award and extend to the Smith family sincere |
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| 36 | 36 | | best wishes for continued success in all their endeavors; and, be it |
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| 37 | 37 | | further |
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| 38 | 38 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 39 | 39 | | prepared for the Smith family as an expression of high regard by the |
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| 40 | 40 | | Texas House of Representatives. |
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| 41 | 41 | | Craddick |
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| 42 | 42 | | ______________________________ |
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| 43 | 43 | | Speaker of the House |
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| 44 | 44 | | I certify that H.R. No. 2472 was adopted by the House on May |
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| 45 | 45 | | 28, 2009, by a non-record vote. |
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| 46 | 46 | | ______________________________ |
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| 47 | 47 | | Chief Clerk of the House |
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