Located in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley, Holly Beach is made up of 1,512 acres of wetlands and wildlife habitat, including four miles of Laguna Madre frontage. In 2017, The Conservation Fund protected this diverse ecosystem as part of the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), where it will provide important habitat and support wildlife-dependent recreational opportunities such as hunting, fishing and bird-watching.

Why It Matters

The Holly Beach property features wildlife habitats such as tidal wetlands and lakes, thornscrub, and coastal prairie —home to several federally endangered species —  including five species of sea turtle, ocelots and nesting northern Aplomado falcons — and potential jaguarundi habitat. It also protects foraging habitat for migratory birds such as gull-billed terns, black skimmers, reddish egrets, piping plovers, mottled ducks and red knots.

The Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge protects one of the two remaining ocelot populations in the United States. The conservation of Holly Beach will safeguard a documented denning site for ocelots, help expand a critical wildlife corridor and connect the northern and southern units of Laguna Atascosa NWR for the benefit of ocelots, white-tailed deer, coyotes, bobcats, collared peccaries, long-tailed weasels and eastern cottontail rabbits.

Laguna Atascosa NWR has more recorded species of birds than any other refuge in the National Wildlife Refuge System. The American Bird Conservancy has designated the area as a “globally important bird area” in recognition of the significant habitat it provides for migratory, winter and resident birds.

Because less than 5% of Texas lands are publicly owned, new recreational areas such as this are critical to wildlife survival and attract local and out-of-state visitors who support the tourism economy. The addition of Holly Beach to Laguna Atascosa NWR will enhance opportunities for hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and photography, and environmental education and interpretation. Approximately 600 additional acres will be available for hunting activities in the refuge, and Holly Beach will be open for school groups, birders, hikers and more.

Our Role

When this pristine habitat was threatened by development, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) asked for our help to purchase and hold the 1,512-acre Holly Beach property until it had the time to gather the funding necessary to incorporate the land into the Laguna Atascosa NWR. A primary goal in protecting this important landscape is to increase populations of:

• Coastal grassland birds, including Aplomado falcons
• Ocelots and other brush-dependent species (by establishing healthier lomas)
• Commercially and recreationally important fishery species (by protecting estuarine and fresh marsh environments that provide nursery habitat)
• Shorebirds, wading birds and waterfowl