Wild Texas Project

Some (hopefully more than temporary) good news. https://apnews.com/article/trump-border-big-bend-national-park-immigration-c8439ceed11ff5e7f3ca95fa0003327b #

Trump administration briefly pauses contentious border project in Texas' Big Bend National Park The Trump administration says it is temporarily pausing construction of a controversial border construction project in the Big Bend National Park while the head of the agency tasked with building the wall visits Texas to do an “on-the-ground evaluation.”

You have until August 17 to add your name to the letter to TPWD Commissioners asking them to help protect Big Bend!

Take a stand for Texas Public Land: Sign our Letter to TPWD Commissioners and ask them to help protect Big Bend Sign your name to the letter urging Texas State Park officials to oppose destructive border barrier construction in Big Bend Ranch State Park, Black Gap Wildlife Management Area, Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site and Chinati Mountain State Park. Please see the letter attached. The letter....

“early construction activities such as clearing and digging have begun”

CBP confirms border barrier work has begun in Big Bend Panel installation is expected in coming weeks, while CBP says work inside the national park has not begun.

Prairie Dogs at the Fort Worth Nature Center… https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1457291253101424&id=100064616896961

With the comeback of these prairie dogs in Fort Worth, a quintessential piece of North Texas’ natural history is being restored.

Before 2015, the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge used to be home to hundreds of black-tailed prairie dogs. But that year, disaster struck and the entire population—about 100 adults in total—died out. Staff still are not sure why.

But in the last two years, the center has rescued and relocated two colonies facing eradication, the first due to a housing development near Amarillo and the second due to a rancher who wanted them off his land. Black-tailed prairie dogs, like the ones at the center, currently occupy less than 1% of their historic range due to habitat destruction and extermination at the hands of ranchers, who worry about cattle breaking their legs in burrow holes.

But the colonies’ reproduction is a sign that relocation was successful; it’s hard to get an exact count, but staff think that 40 to 80 adult prairie dogs call the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge home.

The critters are a key piece of the center’s mission to restore Texas’ natural history. The prairie, a quintessential piece of Texas culture, has mostly vanished across the state. Through mass tree removal, calculated burns and reintroduction of keystone species—like the prairie dogs—the center has started to restore some of the Lyndon B. Johnson National Grassland that once flourished north of Dallas-Fort Worth.

Read more here: https://texashighways.com/outdoors/the-best-new-digs-in-fort-worth-are-at-prairie-dog-town/

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Enchanted Rock State Natural Area is opening some of its newly acquired land to the public for the first time. bit.ly/4f5mueE

Keeping Texas wild for the next 250 🇺🇸

As we celebrate July 4 and , we are grateful for the wild places that make Texas feel like home. From the Texas Longhorn roaming the plains to the Monarch Butterfly migrating across our open skies, these symbols remind us why protecting our natural heritage matters.

We remain committed to caring for the wild things and wild places that define our state so future generations can experience the Texas we love today.

Happy Fourth of July, y’all 🌟

On this 250th Indpendence Day its worth celebrating Texas' first contribution to "America's best idea", when Texas gave America one of its greatest wild places.

Long before it became a national park, the rugged mountains, desert, and canyons of Big Bend were recognized as a landscape unlike any other in the country. In the 1930s, Texans—including local ranchers, conservationists, business leaders, and state officials—worked together to protect the region from development. The State of Texas purchased more than 700,000 acres and held the land in trust until it could be transferred to the federal government.

On June 12, 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the legislation creating Big Bend National Park, making it the only national park in Texas.

More than 80 years later, Big Bend remains one of the wildest places in the lower 48—a reminder that conserving extraordinary landscapes is one of our nation's greatest achievements.

If you want to help protect Big Bend, check out our "Defend the Bend" shirts https://wildtexasproject.com/products/defend-the-bend-classic-cotton-tee, or give directly to Keep Big Bend Wild at https://keepbigbendwild.org/.

Happy Independence Day, and here's to keeping Texas wild. 🇺🇸

Texas is Bear country.

Happy Friday, Wild Texans.

Photo: Plains Coreopsis and Prickly Pear Cactus along the Loop Trail at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.