Protecting the Great State of Texas

The chapter's first land project⁠—an acquisition of 2,600 acres of native coastal prairie—was completed, establishing the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge.

We established the Roy E. Larsen Sandyland Sanctuary in the Big Thicket of East Texas in 1977. This 5,654-acre preserve protects a variety of plants and animals, including one of the last remaining longleaf pine communities in Texas, and is open year-round to the public.

The Chapter acquired and conveyed the 1,640-acre Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, now one of Texas’ most popular state parks.

TNC helped acquire lands for the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge along the U.S.-Mexico border, an internationally known birding and wildlife viewing destination that has grown to 92,000 acres.

TNC transferred the 67,200-acre North Rosillos Mountains Ranch to the National Park Service in 1989, which was then added to Big Bend National Park.

Our Clive Runnells Family Mad Island Marsh Preserve in Matagorda County, now 7,000 acres of critical coastal and marsh habitats, was established in 1989. The preserve is widely known as a prime locale for birdwatching in North America, with over 250 species observed here.

Dolan Falls Preserve was created in 1991, beginning two decades of conservation work along the Devils River—the most pristine river in Texas.

The Chapter purchased the U Up, U Down Ranch near Fort Davis to establish the Davis Mountains Preserve—now the Conservancy’s largest preserve in Texas. TNC also holds conservation easements on 67,000 acres in and around this mountain range.

TNC acquired the Lennox Foundation Southmost Preserve on the Rio Grande at the southernmost tip of Texas, which protects one of the two remaining native palm groves in the state.

In collaboration with partners, TNC purchased 24,500 acres of pristine dunes and beachfront on South Padre Island; the land was added to the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. This coastal area is not only home to a bustling resort community, but it provides habitat for 16 wildlife species with federal or state conservation status—including the cricically endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle.

TNC supported the City of San Antonio’s Edwards Aquifer Protection Initiative, which approved a sales tax increase generating $90 million to protect land over the aquifer—the City’s primary drinking water supply.

In 2007 TNC accepted the donation of conservation easements totaling more than 40,000 acres that protected sensitive lands on the Guadalupe, Pedernales, Devils and Blanco rivers.

Working with partners, TNC acquired the 17,350-acre Powderhorn Ranch on the central Texas coast using funds from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill; the ranch contains one of the largest remaining undisturbed tracts of native coastal prairie habitat left in Texas and will eventually become a state park and wildlife management area.

The Chapter acquired two new preserves in the historic Columbia Bottomlands —Brazos and San Bernard Woods. The old-growth forests and wetlands found here are critically important habitat for migrating songbirds and over 400 wildlife species. These lands also protect the Colorado, San Bernard and Brazos rivers, which provide freshwater to more than one million people.

TNC purchased 536 acres of the former El Rancho Cima Boy Scout Camp—pristine Hill Country property that includes more than a mile of Blanco River waterfront and habitat for a number of wildlife and rare plant species. Eventually, this area will be open to the public for hiking and swimming.

In November of 2020, Suzanne Scott joins TNC as its new Texas State Director, bringing over two decades of leadership and conservation experience to the Chapter.

TNC purchased a conservation easement on the 621-acre Honey Creek Spring Ranch. The easement buffers the Honey Creek State Natural Area and protects the entrances to Texas’ largest cave system.

TNC worked with landowners and a number of partners to protect 515 acres of land and water in the Texas Hill Country. The acreage was added to the Honey Creek State Natural Area and will be used for recreation.