The elusive and solitary ocelot — a small wild cat with markings similar to a leopard or jaguar — once roamed a large part of the southeastern U.S. Today, due to widespread habitat loss, only about 50 ocelots exist in the entire country, with Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) supporting one of the last two remaining populations of these wild cats. Habitat at this wildlife refuge in southern Texas also supports the aplomado falcon, which once thrived throughout the southwestern U.S. but began disappearing in the 1940s and 1950s. Both the ocelot and the aplomado falcon are currently listed as federally endangered species.

Protecting this habitat in the Lower Rio Grande Valley has been a top conservation priority for The Conservation Fund. In 2021, we helped the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) add two key properties, Holly Beach and Dulaney Farms — home to endangered ocelots, jaguarundis, nesting northern aplomado falcons, and five species of sea turtles — to the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. 

The protection of these properties secured roughly 4,800 acres of coastal habitat and helped advance the USFWS’s goals of supporting climate resiliency and safeguarding habitat for endangered species while maintaining recreational opportunities such as hunting, fishing and bird-watching. It also safeguarded foraging habitat for migratory birds such as gull-billed terns, black skimmers, reddish egrets, piping plovers, mottled ducks and red knots.

Dr. Frank Yturria, the owner of a large ranch in South Texas, made an extraordinary effort to do his part to support ocelot and aplomado falcon habitat. In the 1980s, he began working with The Conservation Fund and the USFWS to protect parts of his property that contained habitat critical to the survival of these endangered species. Through land sales, land donations and conservation easements, Dr. Yturria, who died in 2018, was responsible for the preservation of nearly 25,800 acres in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

Dr. Yturria and the previous owners of Holly Beach and Dulaney Farms show what kind of impact individuals can make. Private landowners play a vital part in conservation — especially in Texas, where more than 94% of land is privately owned. By making habitat conservation a priority, we get one step closer to helping these beloved endangered species thrive.