Texas is no longer a frontier. The expansion of cities, industries, superhighways, and reservoirs, and changing land uses are fast absorbing the open spaces that once were so abundant in Texas. Unlike many states that contain vast areas of National forests and parks, there is little federally owned land in Texas, so the State must rely on its own State parks system for outdoor recreational activities. Until recently, however, the State parks program was operated with limited finances, and as a result, Texas is far behind the established national acreage average in its State parks.

Geologic map that depicts the  surface geology of Hansford, Ochiltree, and Lipscomb Counties and parts of Moore, Hutchinson, Roberts, Hemphill, and Sherman Counties.

The conservation movement has grown enormously in strength and breadth during the last decade as a result of widespread concern about natural resources and the quality of the environment. The Federal leadership broadened the definition of conservation to applied ecology and thereby put a meaning into the word that went far beyond its original sense. Conservation now includes all of the physical, social, and legal problems attendant on use of the land.