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Wildlife Refuges Severely Impacted by Hurricane Ike


Coastal marsh before Hurricane Ike. Photo: USFWS


Coastal marsh after Hurricane Ike. Photo: USFWS

Updated April 29, 2009
The Texas Chenier Plain NWR Complex, which includes Anahuac, McFaddin, Texas Point, and Moody National Wildlife Refuges (NWR), sustained a direct hit from Hurricane Ike on September 13, 2008. Almost all facilities were destroyed or significantly impacted from the storm. As a result, public activities on these refuges have been modified or suspended.

Texas Point NWR opened for public access on November 1^st, 2008.

Portions of McFaddin NWR have reopened for public access. Visitors can access the east end of McFaddin beach and the portion of Clam Lake Road located south of ten-mile cut, however, it is not recommended for visitors to drive on the beach. Anglers can fish along Clam Lake or from two fishing piers located on ten-mile cut, however the bridge and areas to the north remain closed due to damage from Hurricane Ike. Significant road repairs are still needed on portions of Clam Lake Road extending north of the bridge.

The Mud Bayou Hunt Unit remains the only hunt unit open for waterfowl hunting on McFaddin NWR this season. Portions of Texas Point NWR are also open for waterfowl hunting. All hunters are required to possess a signed refuge waterfowl hunt permit while hunting on the refuges.

For additional information, please contact the Complex office at 409-267-3337.

Bayous weave through a seemingly endless expanse of cordgrass; reptilian eyes at the water's surface witness the ever-changing variety of waterfowl; and the call of the clapper rail reverberates through the marsh. For hundreds of years, many of the sights and sounds within this dynamic ecosystem have gone untouched. Through strong partnerships, sound management and education, the hope and expectations are they will continue for hundreds more.

Welcome to the McFaddin and Texas Point National Wildlife Refuges, located on the upper Texas Coast. The two refuges supply important feeding and resting areas for migrating and wintering populations of waterfowl.

Established in 1980 and 1979, respectively, the 55,000 acre McFaddin NWR protects one of the largest remaining freshwater marshes on the Texas Coast and thousands of acres of intermediate to brackish marsh. Neighboring Texas Point NWR encompasses 8,900 acres of fresh to salt marsh with some wooded uplands and prairie ridges.

McFaddin and Texas Point National Wildlife Refuges are two of the 540 refuges that comprise the National Wildlife Refuge System, a national network of lands and waters set aside for the benefit of wildlife, and you!

McFaddin and Texas Point National Wildlife Refuges Native prairie

McFaddin Refuge Manager, Dean Bossert
P.O. Box 358
Sabine Pass, Texas 77655
E-mail: fw2_rw_mcfaddin@fws.gov
Phone: 409-736-2371
Fax: 409-736-2438