The Sierra Club heard great news recently!  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has acquired 4,628 acres of Columbia Bottomlands Forest to add to the San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge (SBNWR).  The recently acquired McNeil-Peach Creek Unit is located where Peach Creek enters the San Bernard River.  This unit is the largest contiguous “old-growth” forest remaining in the area and is the first to be preserved in Wharton County.

The 4,628 acres were acquired via $11.5 million from the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, from over $2 million from private funds from the Knobloch Family Foundation, The Brown Foundation, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and via assistance from The Nature Conservancy with grants it secured for the purchase.

Columbia Bottomlands Forest is an important bottomland hardwood forest that consists of many different trees including Green Ash, Pecan, Water Hickory, Bald Cypress, Sugar Hackberry, American Elm, Water Oak, Shumard Oak, Durant Oak, Bur Oak, Black Willow, and many more.

Columbia Bottomlands Forest is extremely important for resident and migratory wildlife and birds.  The area is a major migratory stopover and resting area for migratory birds and supports healthy resident populations of reptiles, amphibians, mammals (Swamp Rabbits and White-tailed Deer) and birds (Wood Ducks).

There used to be over 1,000 square miles of Columbia Bottomlands Forest along the Brazos, San Bernard, and Colorado Rivers in Wharton, Matagorda, Fort Bend, and Brazoria Counties.  Now there is only 150 square miles of forest left or only 15% of what once existed.

People from the Nation’s fourth largest city and all over the world use Columbia Bottomlands Forest and other habitats found in the SBNWR for hunting, fishing, birding, environmental education, photography, canoeing, kayaking, boating, wildlife observation, nature study, and many other low impact and compatible recreational, educational, and scientific activities.   

The Sierra Club has supported since 1992 a program which prepared an “Austin’s Woods Conservation Plan” to acquire and preserve Columbia Bottomlands Forest.  Thanks to all those who helped in this important conservation endeavor.  We are much richer in our public lands legacy due to preservation of the Columbia Bottomlands Forest.

Author: Brandt Mannchen