| Fast Facts |
location
from Corpus Christi Bay south to Rio Soto la Marina in Tamaulipas, Mexico
ecoregion
Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes
project size
5.15 million acres
preserves
South Padre Island, Southmost, Redhead Pond
public lands
Padre Island National Seashore, Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge
partners
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife Depart-ment, Valley Land Fund, Ducks Unlimited, Texas A&M, University of Texas, Pronatura Noreste, Mexican park service, private landowners
conservancy initiatives
Invasive Species, Global Climate Change, Marine
natural events
peregrine falcons migrate, South Padre Island, September–October | |
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Collaboration and restoration are helping protect the “mother lagoon,” named for her ability to nurture life in many forms, from tiny fish to migrating birds to prowling wildcats. |
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Padre Island National Seashore.
© George H. H. Huey |
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Shallow, salty and teeming with life, the Laguna Madre holds a near-spiritual allure for naturalists. Just five miles across at its widest point, the “mother lagoon” stretches more than 200 miles from southern Texas into northern Mexico, sheltered by a system of barrier islands and mainland beaches. Ranching empires have been built on these shores, and the careful stewardship of families, sometimes for more than a century, has helped preserve these extraordinarily rich wetlands.
Meadows of seagrass thrive in the lagoon’s briny waters—one of the five saltiest bodies of water on Earth—providing a nurturing home for fragile young finfish, shrimp and shellfish. Redfish and spotted sea trout glint beneath the waters, and a host of birds, from redhead ducks to migrating peregrine falcons, depend on the undisturbed wetlands for survival. Endangered sea turtles share the beaches and coastal mainland with two magnificent wildcats: ocelot and jaguarundi. |
Reddish egret.
© Wendy Shattil
/Bob Rozinski |
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Like many of its wild inhabitants, this ecosystem is being pushed to its limits by haphazard development, pollution and rapid growth. All-important seagrass beds are declining, threatening not only the lagoon’s rich diversity, but also Texas’ shrimp industry and its commercial and recreational fishing economies. The loss could be significant, as angling and other leisure activities in and around the lagoon contribute more than $500 million annually to the Texas economy. | |
The Nature Conservancy has worked here for more than 15 years, helping protect critical lands through acquisition, easements and collaboration with other conservation organizations. In March 2000, we acquired nearly 25,000 acres on South Padre Island and will eventually convey most of the land to the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. We are also working closely with Mexican partner Pronatura Noreste to establish a Mexican protected area in the region and to provide conservation assistance to private Mexican landowners.
Learn more about The Nature Conservancy's work in Texas. |
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| Conservation Profile |
targets
Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, neotropical migratory songbirds, wintering redhead ducks, seagrass beds, brown pelican, piping plover, peregrine falcon, ocelot
stresses
incompatible commercial and agricultural development, polluted runoff, overfish-ing in Mexico, habitat fragmentation in Texas
strategies
acquire land, restore ecosystems, build conservation alliances, encourage conservation management of public land, promote private land conservation in Mexico
results
protected nearly 30,000 acres, including 24,500 acres at South Padre Island; collaborated with Pronatura Noreste to secure protection of 1.5 million acres in the Mexican portion of Laguna Madre | | | | |
