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Nature Conservancy Donates Nature Preserve on South Padre
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South Padre Island Preserve's endangered species will be protected through transfer of land to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge.
The Nature Conservancy has donated its 1,500-acre South Padre Island Preserve to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for inclusion in the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, officials with the non-profit conservation organization announced Thursday.
 The preserve, on the northern end of South Padre Island adjacent to the Mansfield Channel, provides habitat for endangered species including Kemp's Ridley sea turtles, piping plovers and brown pelicans.
"The decision to donate the preserve land was made after long deliberations about the best way to manage habitat for endangered species while addressing public access and law enforcement issues," said Carter Smith, The Nature Conservancy's Texas state director.
The Conservancy originally purchased the land in 2000 as part of a larger purchase of 24,500 acres with the original intention to transfer all or part of the land to the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. Of the original purchase, about 23,000 acres was conveyed to the refuge in 2003, with the Conservancy retaining approximately 1,500 acres as a nature preserve. The recent donation included that 1,500 acres.
The Conservancy's South Padre Island Preserve was the subject of a proposed condemnation effort by Willacy County in November 2005, when the county announced plans to initiate proceedings to acquire the Conservancy's preserve using eminent domain to create a county park in order to provide public access to the barrier island from Port Mansfield via boat. However, condemnation proceedings did not commence.
"The Conservancy's decision to donate the land was a prudent business- and conservation-management decision," Smith said. "The location of South Padre Island Preserve on the Texas coast created unique management issues for us.
"Increasing demand for public access and the need for law enforcement at the site -- and the impact of both of those issues on endangered species management -- have been a growing concern for our staff. In addition, uncontrolled public access issues arise at this site because state law provides access to the preserve's beaches through the Texas Open Beaches Act," he said.
Smith pointed out that The Nature Conservancy's mission is to preserve ecologically important habitat for a diversity of plants and animals. At this time, the organization does not have the necessary staff and resources to manage South Padre Island Preserve's highly sensitive habitat for public access, he added.
"We believe the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the best organization to provide the services and personnel needed to protect this critical wildlife habitat. As private property owners, the Conservancy is exercising its right to donate this land for inclusion in the national wildlife refuge for the public good. We have always considered this exceptional wildlife habitat on South Padre Island to be a public treasure, and fulfillment of our mission requires we ensure its protection."
The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working to protect the most ecologically important lands and waters around the world for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at nature.org.
In the Lone Star State, The Nature Conservancy of Texas owns 35 nature preserves and conservation projects and assists private landowners to conserve their land through more than 70 voluntary land-preservation agreements. The Nature Conservancy of Texas protects 250,000 acres of wild lands and, with partners, has conserved close to a million acres for wildlife habitat across the state.
Read More About The Nature Conservancy of Texas on the Web at: http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/texas/preserves/art6430.html
View slideshow at: http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/texas/slideshows/sld147_1.html
Donation ends efforts to seize land but county still has hopes
 Efforts by Willacy County to seize 1,500 acres on South Padre Island in order to build a ferry landing have come to an end following the land's donation to the federal government, a conservation group said Thursday.
The Nature Conservancy announced it has donated its 1,500-acre preserve on Padre Island to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Willacy County had wanted to seize the preserve, on the northern end of South Padre Island adjacent to the Mansfield Channel, through eminent domain so it could build a ferry landing and bring in tourists to the island.
Eminent domain gives governments power to take private land for public use - usually for projects such as highways or mass transit systems.
County officials had said seizing the land would allow the public better access to the barrier island from Port Mansfield via boat. Currently, visitors must drive 25 miles up the coast from South Padre Island to reach it.
But conservancy officials feared the ferry landing would bring an influx of beachgoers that would threaten the island's wildlife, which include rare and endangered species, such as Kemp's ridley sea turtles, piping plovers and migrating peregrine falcons.
"We believe the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the best organization to provide the services and personnel needed to protect this critical wildlife habitat. As private property owners, the Conservancy is exercising its right to donate this land for inclusion in the national wildlife refuge for the public good," said Carter Smith, The Nature Conservancy's Texas state director.
"We have always considered this exceptional wildlife habitat on South Padre Island to be a public treasure, and fulfillment of our mission requires we ensure its protection."
Conservancy officials said the preserve's donation basically ends any efforts by Willacy County to seize the land.
Michael Wilson of the Willacy County Navigation District said the county will now ask the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about building the ferry landing on the donated land.
Wilson said the county is not looking to endanger the environment but simply to give beach access to local residents. Port Mansfield, separated from Padre Island by Laguna Madre, is the only public beach access area for residents of the county, located about 40 miles from the Texas-Mexico border in South Texas, he said.
"I feel like we're still going to work to make that happen," he said. "I think it's important for the people of the valley to be able to get over there, especially for those not wealthy enough to have a private boat to get there."
The 1,500 acres become a part of the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, which lies directly south of the donated land.
Willacy County had wanted the land to provide a beach destination for tourists visiting Port Mansfield, a popular, semitropical gateway to what's considered some of the best sport-fishing in the country, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico through the Laguna Madre Bay. The bay waters off the mainland offer little for beachgoers and swimmers.
Willacy County officials can't get beach access north of the 1,500-acre preserve because that is the federally protected Padre Island National Seashore, a wilderness area.
The Conservancy originally purchased the land in 2000 as part of a larger purchase of 24,500 acres with the original intention to transfer all or part of the land to the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. Of the original purchase, about 23,000 acres was conveyed to the refuge in 2003, with the Conservancy retaining about 1,500 acres as a nature preserve.
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By
mikead @
Friday, July 06, 2007 12:57 AM | |
This could make the Ferry crossing to the North-end of South Padre Island a viable option in the future. Let's hope the new owners will approve of that. |
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By
David Sikes @
Monday, July 09, 2007 11:13 PM |
Plans to provide pedestrian ferry access to the remote beaches north and south of the Mansfield jetty hit a snag this past week when the Nature Conservancy donated its section of South Padre Island to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
It's no secret that the Willacy County Navigation District and the Willacy County officials had designs on part of the 1,500-acre Nature Conservancy property. They wanted to create a county park there as part of a master plan to enhance tourism at Port Mansfield. This plan includes a pedestrian ferry to gulf sands on both sides of the channel.
Port Director Mike Wilson with the navigation district said that following failed negotiations with the Nature Conservancy, county officials were considering an attempt to acquire 300-400 acres of Nature Conservancy land through condemnation. But, he added, they would have settled for a smaller tract to set aside for a South Padre county park.
Currently this property is accessible only by driving across 20 miles of beach or by private boat.
The other part of their plan involved depositing pedestrians on Padre Island National Seashore, which currently is accessible by boat or by driving a four-wheel-drive vehicle over 64 miles of beach. Local surf anglers say the difficulty of access is what keeps this remote beach wild. And they'd like to keep it that way.
Meanwhile, now that the northern tip of South Padre Island is federal land, condemnation is not an option there because rules regarding the seizing of property through eminent domain apply solely to private lands.
Folks at the Nature Conservancy tell me this donation is not about blocking public access but rather about preserving wild places. It's not unusual for the Nature Conservancy to donate or sell wildlife habitat it has purchased to state or federal wildlife and park systems.
Niki McDaniel with the Nature Conservancy said that organization officials were more concerned about issues such as emergency medical care for park visitors, dune protection and whether restrooms and other amenities might conflict with the Nature Conservancy's preservation hope's for the property.
McDaniel said that at one time the Nature Conservancy had discussed transferring its entire South Padre Island holdings, which amounted to 24,500 acres bought from a developer in 2000, to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. Most of this land was transferred or sold without profit to the national refuge in 2003. Only 1,500 acres along the Mansfield Channel remained in the hands of the Nature Conservancy until this recent donation.
The Nature Conservancy's mission is habitat protection and conservation, McDaniel said. And ultimately organization officials decided that in this case the USFWS is more capable of protecting and preserving this remote stretch of island habitat as part of the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge.
The idea of providing a pedestrian ferry to Padre Island beaches is rooted in what Willacy County officials believe is a real public access concern. Port Director Mike Wilson believes that driving on the beach could become a seasonal privilege as more and more endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtles return to nest on Padre Island.
Wilson said he wouldn't be surprised if similar restrictions eventually would apply to running a motorboat along Padre Island beaches as the sea turtle program enjoys greater success.
If either or both of these restrictions are imposed, then a low-impact ferry service 10 miles up the Mansfield Channel to the beach could be the only ticket. Wilson is holding onto hope that negotiations with the National Seashore and the Laguna Atascosa Refuge might result in a compromise that benefits eco-tourism for the region as well as public access to federal treasures. They're also considering seeking a political solution.
A previous request to build a boat dock and provide amenities at the south end of the National Seashore was rejected as part of the park's future plans. Wilson said he'll resubmit a less ambitious plan for his ferry service and a low-impact primitive park. Otherwise, he'll be looking for a buyer for a 30-passenger amphibious vessel.
Contact Outdoors writer David Sikes at 886-3616 or sikesd@caller.com |
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