Conservation Easement Protects Valuable Neches River Tract

A collaboration between the Texas A&M Forest Service and The Conservation Fund has preserved approximately 7,000 acres of forestland in the Pineywoods of East Texas. Known as Bobcat Ridge, the acreage fronts the Neches River near Palestine and will almost double the amount of land within the boundaries of the Neches River National Wildlife Refuge. “The forested wetland habitat now permanently protected at Bobcat Ridge was deemed a top-tier Priority 1 Site by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” said The Conservation Fund’s Julie Shackelford. “Many of these Priority 1 sites in Texas have been flooded or developed in the last 30 years. Being able to protect this habitat is a real victory.” Almost half of the known species of birds in the Lone Star State can be found in this particular national wildlife refuge.