Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge is the largest protected area of natural habitat left in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. The refuge is located almost entirely in

Cameron County, Texas Cameron County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 421,017. Its county seat is Brownsville. The county was founded in 1848 and is named for Captain Ewen Cameron, a soldier durin ...

, east of Harlingen, although a very small part of its northernmost point extends into southern Willacy County.

History

The Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge was created following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1946 to protect habitat for

migratory birds Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and mortality. The ...

and

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

, specifically redhead ducks ('' Aythya americana''). By 2010, it had grown to encompass a total of in a landscape of "an interspersed pattern of meandering resacas (oxbow lakes), lomas (brush-covered sand/clay dunes), coastal prairies, and

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

s." In January 2024, the

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitat (ecology), habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state park, state's parks and historical ar ...

announced a proposal to add to the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge via a swap of land currently owned by

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an America, American space technology company headquartered at the SpaceX Starbase, Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas. Since its founding in 2002, the compa ...

, in order to allow SpaceX to become the owner of of Boca Chica State Park land to expand their existing rocket launch facility at

SpaceX Starbase SpaceX Starbase—previously, SpaceX South Texas Launch Site and SpaceX private launch site—is an industrial complex and rocket launch facility that serves as the main testing and production location for SpaceX Starship, Starship launch vehi ...

Fauna

The Peregrine Fund began reintroducing captive-bred northern aplomado falcons (''Falco femoralis septentrionalis'') to the refuge in 1985, which had been nearly

extirpated Local extinction, also extirpation, is the termination of a species (or other taxon) in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinctions. Local extinctions mark a chan ...

from the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

; by 2009, it was home to 26 pair. Nine other

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

threatened species A threatened species is any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which is vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensatio ...

inhabit the refuge, such as the Texas ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis albescens'') and (formerly) the

Gulf Coast jaguarundi The Gulf Coast jaguarundi is an endangered population of the jaguarundi (''Herpailurus yagouaroundi'') once ranging from southern Texas in the United States to eastern Mexico. The cat prefers dense shrubland and woodland, yet has been hampered by ...

(''Herpailurus yagouaroundi''), rare wild

cats The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

Botany and ecology

Programs at the refuge include vegetation and

restoration.

References

External links

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
National Wildlife Refuges in Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley Wetlands of Texas Protected areas of Cameron County, Texas Protected areas of Willacy County, Texas Landforms of Cameron County, Texas Landforms of Willacy County, Texas Protected areas established in 1946 1946 establishments in Texas {{Texas-protected-area-stub

History

Fauna

Botany and ecology

See also

References

External links