The owners of Windemere Ranch property say they’re going ahead with their plans for development, but Hays County could have designs on the land for its regional habitat conservation plan to protect the golden-cheeked warbler and the black-capped vireo.

A county-appointed task force charged with locating a parcel for a shooting sports complex has put forth an open records request to learn of the parcels under consideration for wildlife conservation habitat. The shooting sports task force hopes to co-locate a facility with habitat conservation land, saying no other funds are available for purchasing land.

About 1,400 acres of land adjacent to the San Marcos Baptist Academy is among the 15 parcels being assessed by Hays County for suitability as a publicly-owned endangered bird habitat and shooting range, according to three insiders.

Hays County’s $50,000 contribution in 2008 to the Central Texas Greenprint for Growth project bore fruit last month in the form of interactive Geographic Information System (GIS) maps depicting the region’s land conservation priorities.

Hays County officials are working on a map that will identify conservation needs and the intensity of such needs in specific areas.