Landmark’s Wildlife Exemption Plans and 1-d-1 Filing

So you’ve learned as much as you can about how wildlife exemptions fit with your personal and property goals and are ready to make the switch. What now? Making the transition from ag or timber to wildlife is one of the most important decisions you will make for your land. In addition to guiding the land and wildlife efforts for years to come, your initial wildlife plan and application impact the health of your property and make a very strong impression with the appraisal district. Hiring the right wildlife company to represent your property is paramount.

Landmark’s Process

When Landmark Wildlife begins work on a wildlife plan, our first step is for a biologist to contact the appraisal district on your behalf. The purpose of this conversation is threefold – to verify your property is eligible, to give the appraisal district notice that a wildlife exemption plan and application will be filed, and, finally, to inform them that you’ve hired a professional  biologist who is also a certified property tax consultant able to legally represent you and your property. From that point forward, we will handle all correspondence with the appraisal district.

Next, we schedule a biologist site visit at day and time of your convenience. One of the primary goals of this property visit is to discuss your wildlife and property goals. What wildlife species interest you the most?  Which practices (brush management, food plots, additional water sources, etc.) do you want to learn more about? Our masters-level biologist will identify wildlife management practices that enhance the land, benefit wildlife, align with your values, and fit any budgetary constraints that you may have. While on-the-ground, we’ll discuss plant and habitat management and identify any habitat constraints. Landmark Wildlife only utilizes masters-level wildlife biologists for site visits and plan writing.

The next step is to draft a five year wildlife exemption plan. This plan will provide identify and describe your target wildlife species and chosen wildlife management practices. Habitats and plant communities will be described. With all of Landmark’s wildlife exemption plans, we include aerial, topographic, soils, and wildlife activities maps that show property attributes and detail where practices are to be conducted. We have many clients who hire Landmark to implement their wildlife management practices. However, we don’t design our wildlife exemption plans with that fact in mind.  Our goal is to give you enough direction and detail to conduct the practices yourself.  However, if you need help, we’re always a phone call away.

We then send the wildlife plan and application to you for review. If you’ve changed your mind about any wildlife practices between the site visit and the completion of your first draft, we will make any modifications before the plan is sent to the appraisal district for review.

Finally, the plan is sent via certified mail to the appraisal district. We will make any follow-up phone calls or property visits with you to ensure approval of your wildlife management plan. We notify you as soon as we learn of your wildlife plan’s acceptance.

During the course of their wildlife management plan, clients are encouraged to call their personal biologist with any questions. Topics may include implementation of their plan, plant or animal identification, or miscellaneous wildlife management topics. If you have a question during the course of your wildlife plan, we are always available.

Property Tax Certification

Landmark Wildlife Management is the only wildlife management company in Texas whose biologist staff has Senior Property Tax Consultant certification (#3928) and one of only two wildlife companies in the state certified as a tax agent. Why is this important? You deserve the best representation possible during the wildlife conversion process. More importantly, a wildlife management company cannot legally represent you or your property to the appraisal district property without being a certified tax consultant. For the same reason you wouldn’t hire an accountant or attorney who isn’t licensed, you shouldn’t trust your property’s property tax status to anyone without tax consultant certification.

Our Guarantee 

Landmark offers a money-back guarantee, put in writing, for all wildlife exemption plans that we draft and file. If we don’t successfully convert the property, we feel that we have not performed our job and you don’t deserve compensation. The guarantee also gives you assurance that our biologists do everything in our power to get your property approved.

Why Choose Landmark? 

Wildlife exemptions are our sole line of business. Landmark Wildlife’s masters-level biologists have worked in the wildlife exemption industry for over 8.5 years and have successfully converted over 500 landowners into wildlife appraisal. We’ve got the experience and know-how to allow you to reach your property goals….and we offer the money-back guarantee to show it.

Our Senior Property Tax Consultant certification allows us to legally represent you and your property to the appraisal district, ensuring you get the best representation during the conversion process and giving you the convenience and assurance of knowing that your land and interests are being communicated in a professional manner.   

Lastly, we have the depth and breadth of knowledge to assist you with any project. From brush management, wildlife surveys, reseeding, annual reports, to complete wildlife exemption plan implementation, we have the ability to make your goals a reality.

Drafted by Keith Olenick, Principal and Senior Biologist. To speak to Keith directly, please call 512.906.9491.