Beaumont Conservation Acquisitions Announced

The Conservation Fund announced the acquisition of several key tracts of land adjacent to the Beaumont Unit of the Big Thicket National Preserve in 2007. Since June, 2007, The Fund has acquired over 5,000 acres of cypress-tupelo swamp along the Neches River just north of Beaumont.

These properties, which filter the river’s water and act as a regional carbon sink, have tremendous untapped recreational potential that will be expanded after it is donated to the Big Thicket National Preserve. The tracts, just five minutes north of downtown Beaumont, contain the entirety of Ten Mile Creek and Lake Bayou. The land will be permanently protected for recreation and for the large numbers of migrating land birds, woodland waterfowl and colonial water birds that use the wetland.

Additionally, this past fall, The Fund purchased the 909-acre Weiss Bluff tract of cypress-tupelo swamp at the confluence of the Neches River and Village Creek. The property receives overflow from these waters into its miles of sloughs and swamps. It is bordered on two sides by the Big Thicket National Preserve, and would provide the best vehicle/foot access to the Preserve east of the Neches River. The property will be a premier site for kayaking and canoeing and some hiking once it is part of the National Park Service.

As part of the Texas Pineywoods Experience, the Fund and its partners will help the region to capitalize on the influx of outdoor enthusiasts that come to southeast Texas for fishing and hunting. Land protection will minimize land fragmentation, improve water quality, provide opportunities for outdoor recreation and protect large expanses of open space, wildlife habitat and forestland for local communities and tourists alike.

In combination with existing protected bottomland tracts, including the 5,000-acre Beaumont unit of the Big Thicket National Preserve, the Fund's recent acquisitions totalling 5,000 acres, and Beaumont’s 1,200-acre Collier’s Ferry cypress wetland, the purchase of the Weiss Bluff tract will form a contiguous 12,000-acre block of protected habitat spanning both sides of the Neches River and add to a tremendous natural asset for southeast Texas residents.

Transfer to the National Park Service should be complete by summer 2008, at which time we will have a dedication ceremony to thank all of the numerous partners involved in these acquisitions. Stay tuned for additional information….