Texas City Prairie Preserve
Encyclopedia
The Texas City Prairie Preserve is a 2300 acres (9.3 km²) nature preserve located on the shores of Moses Lake and Galveston Bay
in Texas City, Texas
in the United States
, near Houston. The preserve was created in 1995 by the Nature Conservancy thanks to a US$2.2 million donation of land by ExxonMobil
. The primary goal in creating the preserve was to save the endangered Attwater's Prairie Chicken
species, though the preserve supports a wide variety of wildlife.
The terrain of the preserve includes prairie
and wetland
habitats, enabled in large part by restoration efforts in recent decades. The preserve includes 40 acre (0.1618744 km²) of public access areas including camp sites. The remainder of the preserve is available for tours including boardwalk
access through the marsh
es.
The preserve is part of the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail
, a network of preserves and trails along the Texas coast featuring habitats for birds and other wildlife.
Galveston Bay
Galveston Bay is a large estuary located along the upper coast of Texas in the United States. It is connected to the Gulf of Mexico and is surrounded by sub-tropic marshes and prairies on the mainland. The water in the Bay is a complex mixture of sea water and fresh water which supports a wide...
in Texas City, Texas
Texas City, Texas
Texas City is a city in Chambers and Galveston counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 41,521 at the 2000 census. It is a part of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, near Houston. The preserve was created in 1995 by the Nature Conservancy thanks to a US$2.2 million donation of land by ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil
Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil, is an American multinational oil and gas corporation. It is a direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil company, and was formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. Its headquarters are in Irving, Texas...
. The primary goal in creating the preserve was to save the endangered Attwater's Prairie Chicken
Attwater's Prairie Chicken
Attwater's Prairie Chicken is a highly endangered subspecies of the Greater Prairie Chicken that is native to coastal Texas and Louisiana in the United States.-Description:...
species, though the preserve supports a wide variety of wildlife.
The terrain of the preserve includes prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
and wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
habitats, enabled in large part by restoration efforts in recent decades. The preserve includes 40 acre (0.1618744 km²) of public access areas including camp sites. The remainder of the preserve is available for tours including boardwalk
Boardwalk
A boardwalk, in the conventional sense, is a wooden walkway for pedestrians and sometimes vehicles, often found along beaches, but they are also common as paths through wetlands, coastal dunes, and other sensitive environments....
access through the marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es.
The preserve is part of the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail
Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail
The Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail is a state-designated system of trails, bird sanctuaries, and nature preserves along the entire length of the Texas Gulf Coast in the United States. As the state of Texas hosts more bird species than any other in the U.S. the trail system offers some of the...
, a network of preserves and trails along the Texas coast featuring habitats for birds and other wildlife.