Proposed Lone Star Coastal National Recreation Area

Surprise Yourself! Discover Our Discover the Lone Star Coast Diverse Nature Come see a side of Texas you’ve never seen before.

A place with so many colorful songbirds—vireos, Year-Round Water Sports orioles, tanagers, buntings – that the migrating flocks show up on radar. A place with hiking and Gulf of Mexico Bays & Bayous Forest and Prairies kayak trails threading through watery cypress forests The upper Texas coast sits at nature’s regularly boasts three of the top ten and cordgrass marshes. An angler’s saltwater soup crossroads. Four major biomes of tallies in the entire United States. Into spectacularly diverse flora and fauna scuba? Dive the Flower Gardens National of redfish, flounder, and speckled trout. Some of the converge here. In addition to the Gulf of Marine Sanctuary, a coral reef perched Mexico, there are 150-miles of sparkling on a salt dome just offshore. best winter surfing east of California—especially for bays, barrier islands, and ancient river shortboarders. And a Victorian town so historical and deltas. Double canopy forests and the nation’s westernmost Cypress flourish FOUR SEASONS romantic that Glenn Campbell sang a love song to it. along five major rivers and countless OF FUN bayous. Coastal prairies, estuaries and R JA MBE NUA marshes provide wide-open vistas of CE RY DE DICKEN Y S O LL N F R A TH E flocks of waterfowl and shorebirds. E R Y E B B R A A R M A B ISTM S BIR S U E T E HR D M T A V S H C D CH C R R TE R O A A O E T H IS R Y T IG T U N N N D S L T M N D ES A D O N E T F T I Sneak past drowsing alligators as you F S L N K LEE G U R E F T B E E E R M O E M H O R R T AR T R A A R B T S A A E P G F L float through watery forests draped with S R I A O C E L T B Y M O N G C H T A N O I P A E O M R T G TI H S H N A T N S L T K I U S N S T I I A Spanish moss. Climb a hawk watchtower C N I R A I A O G

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A Secure Future for the Christmas Bird Count – this region

Coastal Communities World-Class Birding The Proposed Lone Star Coastal National Recreation Area

A mosaic of lands located near Houston, ecosystems, the partners seek a more our nation’s fourth largest and most resilient economy that can quickly ethnically diverse city, is proposed for rebound from storms. The proposal is also inclusion within America’s National Park specifically structured to respect prop- System (see map on reverse side). The erty rights. Participants will help develop proposal, developed by a public/private the management plan and collaborate on partnership including a steering commit- governance of the recreation area. There tee led by Houston businessman John will be no requirements for landowners L. Nau, III and Secretary James A. Baker, who do not choose to participate. III, and representatives from landowning Projected economic benefits of the local, state and federal governments and proposed Lone Star Coastal National non-governmental organizations, must be Recreation Area include 1.5 million approved by Texas officials and desig- annual visitors supporting a four-fold nated by Congress. increase in local sales revenues and an The benefits are broad; the commu- 11% increase in tourism-related jobs — all nity supporters, diverse. In addition to within one decade. Ashton Villa improved access to outdoor recreation, increased nature and heritage tourism, Learn more at lonestarcoastal.org and conservation of important natural

59 105 249 45 146

290

159 90 45 Hurricane Ike’s 18 to 20-foot surge struck 6 36 610 10

CHAMBERS 10 COUNTY Texas in 2008, underscoring the need to 225 HOUSTON TRINITY 59 610 BAY

90 enhance coastal resilience and mitigate

GALVESTON 59 BAY

GALVESTON storm damage. Rice University’s SSPEED 36 COUNTY 288 71 BRAZORIA COUNTY Center proposed the Lone Star Coastal

60 35 National Recreation Area, an approach

MATAGORDA COUNTY that supports a nature-based economy compatible with periodic flooding Partnership Interest Area

MATAGORDA of open lands. The SSPEED Center is BAY 20-foot or lower land elevation funded by Houston Endowment. Mardi Gras Outdoor Learning Active Lifestyle Family Fun Discover Our Legendary Heritage

The diversity of the region’s natural bounty In the late 1600s, for the mouth of the cabins and artifacts Velasco were signed in the coldest winters that wait patiently in of 1900. This hurricane the French explorer Mississippi River. related to the culture of 1836, established the on record. Unassisted, a line that stretches is still counted as the is matched by its fascinating cultural history, La Salle established Excavations at the Levi the Kingdom of Kongo Republic of Texas, an she gave birth to a to the horizon. These most deadly natural which tells the story of a land shaped by Fort St. Louis near Jordan Plantation have in west central Africa. independent country daughter, then resumed ships are destined for disaster in US history. Matagorda Bay, exposed remnants of until 1845. gathering food and Galveston and for the Survivors buried more extraordinary people from all over the world. In 1821, the captain of mistaking the area slave and tenant farmer firewood. Port of Houston, fully than 6,000 men, Stephen F. Austin’s Across the channel accessible only after women and children, The Karankawa people are thought to be ship brought some of between Galveston As Texas’ agricultural 1910 when Houston’s then literally raised the first norteameri- Island and the Bolivar economy developed, among the first inhabitants, possibly arriving mayor was the first to the island’s grade level cano colonists at the Peninsula, Fort Travis a steady procession of pledge local funding to up to seventeen feet The Strand here from the Caribbean on a current that invitation of Mexico. sits on a strategic ships from all over the match federal appro- and built a seawall flows clockwise around the Gulf of Mexico. These individuals overlook guarding world sailed past Fort That same “can-do” including an economy priations for dredging. extending miles down were among those beginning, when some Galveston Bay. Jane Travis to reach the port attitude has driven based on the concept Spanish conquistador Cabeza de Vaca the coast. who would eventually of the first shots were Long, the “Mother of at Galveston. Today, Galveston, once known six years of recovery of the proposed Lone encountered them when he shipwrecked on help win Texas’ inde- fired at Fort Anahuac, Texas,” wound up the the Bolivar Ferry as the “Wall Street of Texans have always from Hurricane Ike Star Coastal National Galveston Island in 1528. pendence. The war, until the end when only adult at the fort darts between huge the South,” thrived been known for their and the rebuilding of a Recreation Area. fought here from the the treaties of Fort in 1821 during one of ocean-going vessels until the Great Storm unconquerable spirit. more resilient region, Proposed Lone Star Coastal National Recreation Area

Discover nearly one quarter million A Ashton Villa F St. Joseph Church 32 G UNIVERSITY BLVD acres of public beaches, bays, refuges, 2329SEAWALL BLVD Broadway St 2202 Avenue K parks, and partner-owned nature pre- STRAND ST B Bishop’s Palace, G Tall Ship Elissa EAST END serves and historic places – all within HARBORSIDE DR THE STRAND HISTORIC DISTRICT HISTORIC DISTRICT H 1402 Broadway St Texas Seaport the partnership interest area of the Museum

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS BLVD

25 B C Pier 22 at Harborside proposed Lone Star Coastal National TH Garten Verein ST E 2704 Avenue O Recreation Area. 33 A H US Custom House RD F ST 33 D Menard House, 502 20th St 19 Galveston Bay 1838 Site Partners Foundation 1604 33rd St galvbay.org BROADWAY AVENUE J34 1 Palacios Prairie 35 E Sears Building Wetlands 21 Artist Boat - C AVENUE O 2328 Broadway St palaciosprairiewetlands. Coastal Heritage D SEAWALL BLVD org Preserve artistboat.org Galveston 2 Matagorda BERNARDO DE GALVEZ AVE County 22 Scenic Galveston 13 San Bernard 34 Old Central Peninsula co.matagorda.tx.us scenicgalveston.org National Wildlife Cultural Center Development Refuge Coalition 3 The Nature 23 Galveston Island galvestonoldcentral.com (PenDeCo) Conservancy - Park Board of fws.gov/refuge/san_ber- Texas Trustees nard/ 35 Avenue L pendeco.org/ Missionary Baptist nature.org/texas galvestonparkboard.org 17 Brazoria National Church Texas Historical Wildlife Refuge Commission 5 Matagorda 24 Moody Gardens avenuelmbc.org fws.gov/refuge/brazoria/ thc.state.tx.us County Birding moodygardens.com Nature Center 36 Flower Garden 20 Galveston Island Banks National Sea Turtle mcbnc.org 25 Sea Scout Base - Marine Sanctuary Restoration Project Galveston State Park tpwd.state.tx.us/state- flowergarden.noaa.gov/ seaturtles.org 6 Bay City, TX ssbgalveston.org visitbaycity.org parks/galveston-island Flower Garden 27 Chambers County 26 Fort Travis Other Partners Banks Sanctuary Smith Point Hawk Watch 9 Boy Scouts of co.chambers.tx.us/default. galvestoncountytx.gov/ and Supporters Advisory Council America, Bay Area aspx?name=parks.home Council - Camp PS/Pages/ParkHours.aspx flowergarden.noaa.gov Karankawa Cradle of Texas 32 Galveston Conservancy bacbsa.org/ Historical 28 Wallisville Lake camp-karankawa/48574 Foundation Project Ducks Unlimited galvestonhistory.org swg.usace.army.mil/ ducks.org/texas 10 Brazoria County Locations/Wallisville- brazoria-county.com/ LakeProjectOffice.aspx Galveston, TX parks/index.html Contributive cityofgalveston.org/169/ Sites 29 Anahuac National parks-recreation/ 1 1 Texas Historical Wildlife Refuge Tall Ship Elissa Commission - 4 Texas Parks fws.gov/refuge/anahuac/ Varner Hogg & Wildlife Plantation Dept. - Wildlife 30 Moody National Varner Hogg Plantation visitvarnerhoggplanta- Management Areas Wildlife Refuge tion.com tpwd.state.tx.us/ 31 huntwild/hunt/wma/ McFaddin 12 Texas Historical National Wildlife Refuge Commission - Levi 7 Matagorda Bay Jordan Plantation Nature Park fws.gov/refuge/mcfaddin visitlevijordanplantation. lcra.org/parks/devel- 33 Moody Mansion, com oped-parks/Pages/ Bishop’s Palace 1892 matagorda-bay-nature- 14 moodymansion.org Gulf Coast Bird park.aspx Observatory gcbo.org 8 Big Boggy National Wildlife 1 5 Freeport, TX Refuge freeport.tx.us fws.gov/refuge/big_boggy

16 Village of Surfside Beach surfsidetx.org

18 Houston Audubon houstonaudubon.org

Champion Oak

Houston Field Office Contributing Photographers: Steve Schuenke; Legend 9654 Katy Fwy #252 Bob Howen; Jim Olive, stockyard.com. Contributing Photographic Sources: Boy Scouts of Site Partners Houston, TX 75055 America, Bay Area Council; Brazoria National Wildlife Contributive Sites 713-702-0767 Refuge; Galveston Historical Foundation; Gulf Coast Bird Observatory; National Marine Sanctuary, Emma Natural Points of Interest NPCA Headquarters Hickerson; NOAA Flower Garden Banks, Seaturtle.org; Historical Points of Interest Texas Historical Commission. 777 6th Street, NW, #700 36 Washington, DC 20001 800-628-7275 npca.org