The Herald-Zeitung New Braunfels

Leesa Brieger poses on her property with a sign from Texas Agricultural Land Trust indicating the property has a conservation easement on August 5, 2025.

By Kaitlynn Hutchins | The Herald-Zeitung

Just as acres and acres of land have been passed down from one generation to the next, the idea of conservation is something that Leesa Brieger’s family has believed in for a long time.

“Nobody wants to see this whole legacy go away,” Brieger said. “That is born of the original children of the original family, and the [Great] Depression hit hard, but it was just another chapter, and the people who survived it had to dedicate their lives to surviving.”

Brieger is a descendant of the Fischer brothers, who established the Fischer Store and Fischer Hall. The land surrounding Fischer has been in the family since the 1850s, Brieger said. She now lives in a farmhouse on a 266-acre ranch that once belonged to her grandparents, where Brieger, her sister and cousins all spent summers and holidays together. Several other family members, including Brieger’s mom and cousins, have lived in the house at one point.

Many descendants of the Fischers still live and work on the land surrounding Fischer, a small community about four miles north of Canyon Lake that was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.

“Something about this place harkens back to a time when I don’t think it was simpler, they had to struggle, they had to fight for their survival. We don’t have to fight like that now, we don’t have to live off this land,” Brieger said. “But this land represents such a struggle, such a victory, such a commitment on the part of so many people that happened to have been our family, and to let that just be run over by people who don’t have a clue, we’re not okay with that.”

As Comal County continues to rapidly develop, the land is now protected from development by a conservation easement through the Texas Agricultural Land Trust. When a land owner enacts a conservation easement, development rights are bestowed to a land trust, which has legal power to make sure all subsequent owners of the land do not develop the land.

After coming back to Texas to live on her family land six years ago, Brieger noticed how much the area had changed since her childhood and knew she wanted to do something to protect the place that meant so much to her.

“It started with seeing the world around us change and not always being happy with the changes,” Brieger said. “Part of that is the fences have to go up, you have to fence people out, you have to put no trespassing signs everywhere, when it used to be that there were no fences and people could walk on your land and it was not a big deal.”

Brieger did not get an easement application approved on the first try. Over the course of several years, she filed four applications before being approved for the easement by TALT.

Other land owners throughout Comal County can ensure their land stays undeveloped, even as the land is passed down to heirs or sold to new owners by enacting a conservation easement for their land. Land owners that enact conservation easements are often eligible for tax breaks and partial reimbursements for the value of their land.

“None of [us] want to see this land developed, but they also don’t want to be told what to do, which is a very Texan thing,” Brieger said. “But here’s the thing that nobody gets – you put what you need into the contract.”

Brieger encourages others to conserve their land and said that many land trusts prioritize the rights of the land owner. There are also many different land trusts available, which typically have different priorities, like preserving agriculture or wildlife conservation.

“That’s what these ranchers need to hear, because they have very vague ideas about what conservation easements are,” Brieger said. “They think it’s people telling you what you can and can’t do with your land, and that’s not what it is. You decide what the terms are that you want that will outlive you and even your family, your ownership of the land.”

Any Comal County residents that want to pursue a conservation easement for their own land can reach out to Comal Conservation, a local nonprofit organization that aims to protect the county's natural resources for years to come. More information is available at www.comalconservation.org/conservation-easements.