The San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge in Brazoria, Texas, recently gained 4,628 acres from the Columbia Bottomlands habitat to help resident and migratory wildlife.
The new land is to be named the McNeill-Peach Creek, according to a Jan. 4 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service release.
"The opportunity to conserve nearly 5,000 acres of Columbia Bottomlands habitat is unprecedented,” Amy Lueders, USFWS regional director said in the release. “We are grateful for The Nature Conservancy and other partners who helped us acquire this unique tract, which has been a priority since the Austin’s Woods Land Protection Plan was approved in 1997.”
Several animals call the bottomlands home including swamp rabbits, white-tailed deer, red-eared slider turtles, and wood ducks, according to the release.
"San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge is home to some of the only forested wetlands on the Texas Coast," the USFWS stated in a tweet. "With the help of the Nature Conservancy Texas we've acquired another 4,628 acres of forest for the benefit of residents and migratory wildlife."
The newly acquired tract safeguards critical plant and wildlife habitat in a region that is rapidly developing, Suzanne Scott, state director for The Nature Conservancy in Texas said in the release.
“The Nature Conservancy is pleased to continue its role in collaborative partnerships within the Columbia Bottomlands and protect additional old-growth forests and wetlands," she said.
San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1969 and spans 54,000 acres. According to the USFWS website, the refuge serves as a winter habitat for migratory waterfowl and other bird species, as well as a starting point for migratory songbirds headed north to their breeding grounds, exhausted from their 600-mile journey crossing the Gulf of Mexico.
The Nature Conservancy assisted with securing grants to help fund the acquisition, the release stated. To meet the appraised value, the USFWS used more than $11 million from Migratory Bird Conservation Funds along with more than $2 million in private fund donations.
