| Southmost preserve
dedicates new trail - Natural area protects Sabal palms
(Note: General Motors gave TNC a grant for this.)
September 5, 2006
By Sara Ines Calderon sicalderon@brownsvilleherald.com or 956-982-6614 The Brownsville Herald Brownsville, Texas http://www.BrownsvilleHerald.com To submit a Letter to the Editor: crodriguez@brownsvilleherald.com
To others, at the Nature Conservancy of Texas in Southmost, the brush will soon be covered in water, creating a habitat for countless nesting and migratory birds, turtles, snakes and frogs. Last Tuesday, the staff at the Lennox Foundation Southmost Preserve held a naming ceremony for their new trail leading up to one of the resacas in the 1,034-acre preserve. The 55-acre resaca features a boardwalk that will, once it fills up, stretch onto the resaca itself, providing visitors with an up-close view of passing wildlife. The Nature Conservancy, which runs the preserve, aims to protect rare plants and animals, said Sonia Najera, program manager for South Texas. In the Rio Grande Valley, the Conservancy aims to preserve one of the few remaining wild populations of Sabal palms and also to promote sustainable farming to the rest of the Valley. The Southmost preserve has been open since 1999, and since then, the Conservancy has worked toward restoring the area, so migratory birds and bats can nest in the Sabal palms in the area. Even the Sabal palms themselves are rare, Najera said, and can only be found in and around Brownsville. Thanks to a grant from General Motors, the Conservancy was able to create the first trail at the preserve, Najera said. Named "Chevrolet’s Turk’s Cap Trail," the president of Charles Clark Chevrolet in McAllen, Kirk Clark, was on hand for the dedication. The preserve is currently not open to the public, but beginning this winter, there will be designated open house days so that visitors may enjoy one of Southmost’s natural spots, Najera said.
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