Originally published in 2009
For Three Months, Hunters Flock to the Newly Renovated Brooks County Airport
by Rick Davenport,
Texas Transportation Institute
When you pass through the rustic, old-fashioned entrance to the Brooks County Airport, you find yourself thinking out loud, “There sure isn’t much to this place.”
Only a few hangars dot the 250-acre airport property, and most of them were probably not new 30 years ago. There are a couple of fuel trucks and a small headquarters building with unfinished cedar posts supporting the front porch. You can’t help but wonder why there’s an eight-foot-high metal-mesh fence that completely surrounds the facility. (More on that later.)
And then something strange happens. A jet appears on the horizon. “You know that jet is about to land here in the middle of nowhere. Why in the world would …. ” Before long, it becomes crystal clear what a large corporate jet is doing in Falfurrias, Texas, population: 7,731.
Three Suburban’s pull up to the taxiing jet. As a score of men emerge from the Gulfstream II, camouflage-dressed drivers get out of the SUVs, head to the plane’s luggage compartment and start unloading duffel bags, backpacks and … gun cases. “Now I get it. This is, after all, South Texas deer and quail country, and all these men are here to hunt.”
Turns out, hunting is the lifeblood of the Brooks County Airport. “November through January, we do 80 percent of our annual business,” says Airport Manager Bond Cosby. ‘We stay busy during hunting season … and sure don’t have much time for it ourselves.” Brooks County is a haven for corporations that treat their clients and employees to the wildlife-rich region of South Texas. And thanks to a recently completed runway expansion project that lengthened the strip from 5,000 to 6,000 feet, larger jets are now able to fly into the airport.
Inside the newly remodeled headquarters building-that has never had a ‘Welcome to Brooks County Airport” sign on it but is being considered by officials-are large cork boards adorned with dozens of photographs. On closer inspection, the pictures are of people we all know that were taken at this secluded airport.
There are several photos of President George W. Bush, one as he’s conducting a news conference with a throng of media and secret service folks milling about. His father, George Herbert Walker Bush, appears in many of them, along with former Secretary of State James Baker and former Senator Alan Simpson. And you recognize the golfers: Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, and Hale Irwin. Oh … and there are big- and small-screen celebrities like Sylvester Stallone and Tom Brokaw.
Although they all come here to hunt quail or a famous South Texas Muy Grande, there are not many deer photos. One, however, catches your eye. It’s a big-horned buck on the tailgate of a pickup with its backside missing. ”That deer got in the way of a landing jet,” Cosby tells me. “The county didn’t have the funds for a deer-proof fence, so our customers passed the hat among themselves.” Ironic, I thought. Deer bring people to this airport, and they raised money to keep the deer out. ‘We all feel a bit safer now. Deer can sure mess up aircraft,” Cosby told me.
Deer are a big boost to this region. ”The estimated economic benefit of our airport is around $1 .5 million annually,” Brooks County Judge Raul Ramirez says proudly. “And that’s just what we know about it. We have lots of hunting camps that bring in their hunters by ground that we never see. But those hunters spend a lot of money here.”
Ramirez credits the hard work and dedication of Cosby and Brooks County Commissioner Luis Arevalo, as well as the foresight of the Texas Department of Transportation for approving a nearly completed $3.3 million airport improvement project. ”The runway expansion means the airport can now accommodate larger class planes, especially in rough weather,” Cosby says. ”The extension, parallel taxiing and a lighting upgrade mean we are as safe as we can be. It’s a big plus for our customers.”
You can’t help but notice the impressive, thick-horned, 10-point buck on a wall inside the office. Judging from the taxidermy work, it looks like an old mount. “Sixty years ago, my father shot that deer on the King Ranch with a friend who just happened to be the ranch manager,” Cosby tells me. “Back then, hunting was just something to do. Now, it’s more than just recreation. It’s big business.”