State parks officials will seek authorization early next month to move forward with a deal that would trade the rugged, isolated, lightly visited, 20,000-acre Devils River State Natural Area and about $8 million in private, state and federal money for Devils River Ranch, a privately owned, 17,600-acre property sitting a dozen or so miles downstream on the spring-fed waterway many consider to be the most pristine in Texas.

The swap/purchase would put into Texas Parks and Wildlife Department hands a "spectacular," much more accessible-to-the-public tract that could become "one of the premier parks in our system," said Scott Boruff, TPWD deputy executive director.

But some conservation organizations and paddler/anglers are leery of the deal, questioning the logic of the transaction, TPWD's procedures for informing the public about the proposed exchange and the impact on paddlers of trading away the only public land along the upper reaches of the Devils.

Some concerns

"There are several things that concern us. How are they going to pay for it? Not just the up-front costs — the $8 million - but development, operational and maintenance costs, particularly given the economic issues state agencies are facing," Ken Kramer, director of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, said of the Devils River swap/purchase proposal. "And we're certainly concerned with what seems like a rush to get this deal done quickly, without much notice and opportunity for public input. The first I heard about it was last week. It doesn't appear to me they are living up to the spirit of their policy on land transactions."

After a 2005 controversy involving a potential sale of several thousand acres of Big Bend Ranch State Park, TPWD developed a land transaction process that included more public notice of potential land deals and more opportunities for public comment.

That policy included discussing the deal during at least two commission meetings and at least 30 days public notice before the commission could consider approving any transaction. The 30-day-notice policy was modified in 2008 to add "or some other reasonable period," Boruff said.

The Devils River swap/purchase has been discussed only in closed-to-the-public executive session of the TPW Commission. The Nov. 4 TPW Commission meeting at which the proposal will be considered for adoption will be the first meeting at which the transaction is publicly discussed.

Public posting of the proposed transaction didn't occur until earlier this week, when legal notices announcing the proposal and two scheduled public hearings on the issue (Oct. 20 in Del Rio, Oct. 26 in San Antonio) were printed in major newspapers.

Reasons for the deal

"We are sure the way we have handled this is very much in line with our policy," Boruff said, adding the agency's legal division assured him they have complied with policy and laws on posting notice of the proposal.

"We're committed to getting extensive public input from all stakeholders on this," said Carter Smith, TPWD executive director.

TPWD staff have entered into a tentative contract for the deal - a contract that expires Dec. 15. The TPW Commission could approve or deny further pursuit of the transaction.

Appraisals place the value of the Devils River Ranch at about $8 million more than the value of Devils River SNA. TPWD has about $6 million available for the deal - $2 million from a private donation, $2 million in state park acquisition funds and $2 million in matching federal funds. The agency hopes to raise the additional $2 million.

TPWD executive staff believes the swap/purchase is a great opportunity to acquire a large tract that better fits the agency's mandates of protecting natural resources and offering diverse outdoor recreational opportunities to Texans than the currently held Devils River State Natural Area.

The Devils River State Natural Area, which TPWD obtained in 1988, is one of the least visited of the agency's 100-plus state park units. The 30-plus-square-mile natural area holds rugged terrain and includes crucial springs feeding the Devils River. But it is hard to reach, offers only primitive camping facilities, no potable water and has minimal staff. Access to the 1.5 miles of river frontage is limited to staff-run tours or those willing to hike or bike the mile or so from a parking area.

Only about 1,000 people visit Devils River State Natural Area each year, with about 250 using the riverfront area.

"It gets minimal public use, at best," said Smith.

Budget issues have prevented the agency from conducting large-scale management and restoration projects to enhance the tract, Smith said.

With the Devils River Ranch, the agency would get a property much more suited to public use and one that has seen extensive habitat restoration and management, agency officials said.

The Devils River Ranch holds dramatic topography that includes stunning bluffs overlooking the ranch's 10 miles of river frontage, is accessible via paved roads, has a good interior road system and has been well managed to restore and preserve the natural landscape and wildlife resources, Boruff said.

"It's 45 miles from Del Rio, all on good roads; you can be on the river in an hour," Boruff said. "To get to the (Devils River) Natural Area, you're looking at three hours (from Del Rio), more than 20 miles of it on pretty primitive roads; if it rains, you're stuck."

'Not another Garner'

The ranch, located on the east side of the Devils near where it enters Lake Amistad, holds an 8,000-square-foot lodge, a five-bedroom home, a horse barn, 30 miles of improved caliche roads and a 4,200-foot paved airstrip.

Both properties - the natural area and the ranch - are under conservation easement agreements that permanently protect the tracts from all but minimal development.

"If we end up getting this property, it would not become another Garner," Boruff said, referring to heavily developed and perpetually crowded Garner State Park on the Frio River.

If the swap/purchase occurs, the new park would not open to public use until completion of an extensive master planning process. That process could take as long as two years or more, Boruff said.

shannon.tompkins@chron.com