The Service proposes to acquire up to 108,127 acres of land near to the refuge in Cameron and Willacy Counties, including the northern portion of South Padre (see attached map). In recent years 56,000 acres have already been offered to the Service.
Many of the lands covered in the proposal are tidal or storm-prone areas not well suited to development -- but are extremely important to maintaining the unique and abundant fish and wildlife of South Texas. The Service would acquire lands only from willing sellers or donors in fee title or conservation easement conservation easement
A conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and a government agency or qualified conservation organization that restricts the type and amount of development that may take place on a property in the future. Conservation easements aim to protect habitat for birds, fish and other wildlife by limiting residential, industrial or commercial development. Contracts may prohibit alteration of the natural topography, conversion of native grassland to cropland, drainage of wetland and establishment of game farms. Easement land remains in private ownership.
Learn more about conservation easement . It has no interest in acquiring developed lands in towns, subdivisions, or commercial/industrial areas.
The Services proposal would protect additional riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.
Learn more about riparian and thicket habitats for the endangered ocelot, which is now limited to about 30 animals on the refuge, and enhance migratory bird habitats such as San Martin Lake, Bahia Grande, and Resaca de los Cuates. Habitats on South Padre would be preserved for species such as endangered sea turtles, peregrine falcons, piping plovers, other shorebirds, wading birds, waterfowl, and songbirds.
"Acquiring these areas would also protect fishing, hunting, and other recreational opportunities for future generations," said Steve Labuda, Refuge Manager for Laguna Atascosa. "We will encourage fishing on South Padre and other newly acquired areas."
Under the Texas Open Beach Access Act, the public is entitled to use Gulf Coast beaches to camp, swim, drive, ride horseback, and other recreational uses. "The Service will ensure that the public always has access to the beach on South Padre Island," Labuda added.
Under its proposal, the Service will negotiate and reach a consensus with each town in the project area within a year of project approval to establish a growth buffer area around each town within which the Service will not acquire lands, so that towns can expand in the future.
The Laguna Atascosa and Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuges have made significant contributions to the economies and culture of the Valley. The Lower Rio Grande Valley NWR has had an active land acquisition program for almost 20 years with willing sellers, some of whom have returned with additional offers to sell other lands. Refuge neighbors use or sell their lands without Service interference. Property values of neighboring lands will likely remain stable or increase as the population in the Valley continues to increase.
Lands acquired by the Service will participate in the Refuge Revenue Sharing Act, which helps compensate for county and school taxes that would have been collected on private lands. The Fish and Wildlife Service has paid over $1.6 million to Cameron County over the last 10 years for lands in the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. Although the Service has paid less than the Acts full entitlement in recent years, payments for formerly agriculturally exempt private lands still exceeded former property tax payments.
Refuge Revenue Sharing payments could be less than former tax payments on non- agriculturally exempted parcels, primarily those on South Padre Island, Labuda noted. However, total agricultural land in the Services proposal far exceeds non-agricultural lands. Acquisition of the land areas proposed by the Service is therefore expected to result in a net increase in revenues to governments and school districts in Cameron County. In addition, placing undeveloped lands in refuge status would not bring increased demands on local and county governments to provide infrastructure and services such as roads, power, water, police and fire protection, and school costs that residential or commercial development would require.
Nature tourism is encouraging local investment throughout the Lower Rio Grande Valley, as evidenced by the proposed World Birding Center in Mission, the two annual birding festivals, and the Valley Land Funds annual lucrative wildlife photography contest. "People are coming to Texas to see its rich and diverse natural resources, including its wildlife species, many of which are found nowhere else in the country," Labuda added.
In 1998, the Laguna Atascosa NWR recorded 186,030 visitor days, including more than 700 hunters, compared to 1995s record of 106,960 visitor days. Providing additional areas for these growing numbers of nature tourists to visit will expand the benefits to local economies.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System comprised of more than 500 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands, and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts.
