WHF History
WHF History
Founded in 2004, the Wildlife Habitat Federation (WHF) has grown steadily through strategic federal, state, and private partnerships. These collaborations have expanded WHF’s conservation reach, strengthened landowner engagement, and delivered measurable habitat improvements across Texas.
2000 Acquired WW Ranch
In 2000, Jim Willis and John Webb purchased a 225-acre ranch in Colorado County and named it WW Ranch. The property was primarily coastal prairie that was severely overgrazed and lacking in wildlife. They developed a wildlife habitat restoration plan, obtained an open space tax valuation, and with the help of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Audubon Texas, began to restore the land. Five years later, in 2005, WW Ranch was recognized by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department as the Lone Star Steward Award recipient for the Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes Ecoregion.
2004 Founding of Wildlife Habitat Federation℠ (WHF)
In 2004, Willis and Webb became co-founders of the Wildlife Habitat Federation℠ (WHF) to encourage others to emulate their success by providing a source of assistance and guidance to other landowners in the local area. In 2004, WHF began working in 2 counties on 200 acres.
2006 Awarded a Conservation Innovation Grant
In 2006, desiring to expand the native prairie footprint in the area, WHF applied for and was the first Texas recipient to be awarded a Conservation Innovation Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Resources Conservation Service. The grant provided funding to increase quail habitat along a 7 mile long corridor starting at the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge in Eagle Lake and ending at WW Ranch in Cat Spring. Portions of the 150-foot wide corridor were “set apart” with fencing that ran parallel to existing boundary fences and crossed 5 ranches. Using various restoration practices such as prescribed burning, herbicide applications and no-till planting, the land lying within the boundaries of the corridor was returned to a more historical native grass and forb plant community. The corridor was completed in 2010.
2013 TPWD’s Oaks and Prairies Joint Venture Began
In 2013, TPWD’s Oaks and Prairies Joint Venture began annual bird counts in a focal area that included the WHF Quail Corridor. They found 31 species of birds and a population increase of 80% more birds living in the corridor area than in the surrounding landscape. In 2014, 30 Attwater Prairie Chickens were seen in the corridor off of the refuge. The success of this program demonstrates that agriculture and wildlife habitat can co-exist. To quote Aldo Leopold in his book, A Sand County Almanac, “Can we really not have ‘both progress and plants’?”
2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners Program
WHF receives $732,000 in federal funding through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners Program to support habitat restoration and implementation. Matching landowner contributions leverage more than $1.4 million in on-the-ground conservation outcomes.
2015 Reimbursement Agreement with the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board
WHF enters into a reimbursement agreement with the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board to provide conservation planning assistance to landowners along the Texas Gulf Coast.
2016 New Program Director
2016 saw the addition of a Program Director, Garry Stephens, who came to us after 30 years service with the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service. His knowledge of government programs and expertise in the field of conservation has helped build WHF into the organization it is today.
2016 Partnership with NRCS
WHF formalizes a conservation planning partnership with NRCS and expands services into multiple Texas counties.
2017 The Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute’s Texas Native Seed Program
The Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute’s Texas Native Seed Program provides $90,000 to support research and evaluation of native Texas seed sources for targeted restoration projects.
2018 NRCS Texas Partners for Conservation Award Receipient
WHF receives a $150,000 NRCS Texas Partners for Conservation award, providing technical assistance to landowners restoring and enhancing wildlife habitat across a 15-county region in the Colorado River Basin.
2020 NFWF Southeast Aquatics grant funding
Through National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Southeast Aquatics grant funding, WHF assists private landowners with conservation planning, restoration, enhancement, and protection across at least 20,000 acres in the Lower Colorado, Lower Brazos, and San Bernard watersheds. Management plans are customized to landowner priorities, capacities, and objectives.
2022 WHF experiences significant growth
NRCS supports WHF through a cooperative agreement under the Texas Partners for Conservation program, advancing natural resource conservation and agricultural sustainability in a five county area within the Middle Colorado River watershed.
WHF experiences significant growth in conservation plan requests, resulting in a substantial increase in acres under improved management and an expanded geographic footprint.
2023 Increasing Impact to 50 Texas Counties
After 19 years of diligently putting habitat on the ground, WHF has increased its area of impact to 50 Texas Counties and is seeing positive results with improved habitat management on over 110,000 acres. Urban projects have included the Katy High School Tiger Prairie, the Memorial Park Landbridge Project, Hermann Park, M.D. Anderson campuses, the Fulshear FM 1093 Median project and the Texas Heritage Parkway.
WHF continues its long-standing partnership with NRCS through a $2.3 million contribution agreement, providing technical guidance and assistance to private and public landowners across all five NRCS–Texas administrative zones.
WHF launches an America the Beautiful Challenge grant project, supported by $595,000, serving a 17-county region along the Upper Texas Coast.
WHF enters an ongoing agreement with Coastal Prairie Conservancy to deliver services through the Texas Coastal Prairie Initiative (TCPI), part of NRCS’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), supporting landowners across a 13-county Mid-Texas Coast region
2024 Celebrating 20 Years
WHF celebrates 20 years of restoring resilient grasslands and healthy watersheds.
WHF partners with Coastal Prairie Conservancy to deliver technical assistance through the Texas Grasslands and Savannas Initiative (TGSI), also under NRCS’s RCPP. Combined TCPI and TGSI efforts have assisted 41 landowners and improved management on more than 41,300 acres to date.
2025
WHF initiates a task force and planning process for its 2026–2028 strategic plan.