Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge
When Spanish explorers first saw the layers of hills northwest of what is now Austin, Texas, they named the land Balcones. These limestone hills and spring fed canyons make up most of the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge, located north of Lake Travis. The primary purpose of the refuge is to conserve the nesting habitat of the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler and Black-capped Vireo. The vegetation found in this area, known as the Texas Hill Country, includes various oaks, elm, and ashe juniper trees (commonly called cedar). The Golden-cheeked Warbler and Black-capped Vireo depend on different successional stages of this vegetation. Both of these birds nest in Central Texas, the warbler exclusively
Developers are prepared to build on a beautiful portion of the Hill Country in Burnet County, forever adding another subdivision adjacent to the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge has been trying to protect the Cow Creek Ranch with the help of the Texas Nature Conservancy, but due to lack of Federal Funds, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Nature Conservancy have been unable to purchase this property which is included in the planned acquisition boundary for the Refuge. Now, development is planned for the 3034 acre Cow Creek Ranch unless it can be purchased outright, and that's what we're asking for help with.
Please consider making a donation towards the purchase of this property to the Friends of Balcones National Wildlife Refuge at PO Box 4678, Lago Vista, TX 78645, or contact them by e-mail or phone at friends@friendsofbalcones.org, 512-339-9432. Your donations will be used to attract other Federal and private funds, so anything you can give will be of great benefit towards our goal of purchasing this property. If we can generate the funds to purchase all or a portion of the Cow Creek Ranch, we may also be able to secure the protection of an additional 751 acre tract nearby through the generous offer of a local conservationist.
If you can make a larger donation, please contact the Nature Conservancy of Texas or Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge (512-339-9432) directly to make donations over $10,000 and tell them you want to protect the head-waters of Cow Creek for the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge.
See our Conservation Giving Program for details on how you can help with any donation amount that will be designated for land purchase.
Thank you for considering this request, and thank you in advance for your generous support of the Refuge.
Saturday, January 31Led by Sparrow Experts Byron Stone, Bill Reiner, and Chuck Sexton.
The ever-popular Sparrow Workshop returns to Balcones Canyonlands! Plan
to join us at the Flying X Ranch, Balcones Canyonlands NWR.
What an INCREDIBLY AWESOME, WILDLY SUCCESSFUL
FESTIVAL you made happen!
MANY, MANY, THANKS to all the HARD WORKING VOLUNTEERS,
PARTNERS, SPONSORS and ALL THE WONDERFUL PARTICIPANTS THAT MADE THIS SO
SUCCESSFUL!
CONTACT
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our survey and help us us the statistics!
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Findings!
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Friends organization encourages you to become a member! Visitors are welcome
to our events.
