Winnie Burkett at HAS’s Bolivar Flats lookout tower

Land along the upper Texas coast is in great demand, prices are rising and vital bird habitat is disappearing fast. That’s why the Houston Audubon Society (HAS) jumped at the chance to buy a piece of undeveloped property next to Bolivar Flats, a particularly important resting, feeding and breeding site for 25 species of shorebirds, some of which are endangered and threatened.

HAS Sanctuaries Manager Winnie Burkett explains, “A couple of years ago, we noticed some signs on the peninsula for a bankruptcy. We called, and it turned out this land was for sale. There were 3,000 acres; they didn’t want to divide it, and we didn’t want to take on that much at one time. So we told the realtor to let us know if the bankruptcy court ever got to the point where they wanted to divide up the property. About a year later, they called back.”

Bolivar Flats started forming more than a 100 years ago after a channel was dredged and jetties were built to eliminate shifting sandbars and other obstacles to ships going in and out of Galveston Bay. “When the jetties were built at the end of the 1800s, it stopped the longshore current, which, as it travels south along the Gulf Coast, collects sediment from rivers, such as the Mississippi and the Sabine,” says Ms. Burkett. “In the past century, this marsh has grown from that sediment. Marshes are rich with nutrients from rotting plants and decaying fish-life. Those nutrients get into the mud and feed large quantities of invertebrates, which are in turn eaten by birds. That muddy area frequently is covered with birds.”

HAS has worked to protect Bolivar Flats for more than 20 years. “When the Open Beaches Act was passed, people could come out here and drive their cars all around in here, frightening the birds and running over their nests,” explains Ms. Burkett. “We felt it was essential to keep vehicles out of the most sensitive habitat, so we asked the county to put up a vehicular barrier. Next, we asked the General Land Office to let us manage this area. After quite a long while of dickering back and forth, they gave us a lease and let us manage the area. Then we got a grant from the Fish and Wildlife Service that was matched by Phillips Petroleum. We used the funds to build the lookout tower and extend the vehicular barrier.”

When the largest undeveloped tract of land next to the Flats became available, HAS mounted its biggest fund-raising effort to date, acquired as much land as it could and added 615 acres to the 508 acres already under its protection. “We need to protect the whole ecosystem that makes Bolivar flats productive,” explains Ms. Burkett. “If condominiums or motels were built on the beach, we’d wind up with septic systems, we’d wind up with vehicles, we’d wind up with trash and we’d wind up with people in areas where they shouldn’t be. We just didn’t want that to happen.”

She continues, “People often assume that all wetlands are protected, but that’s no longer true. Not too long ago, the Supreme Court ruled that a federal permit is not required to destroy wetlands not connected to navigable waters. Some states have good regulations to govern this practice, but in Texas we have no rules. President Bush also has asked the EPA to redefine wetlands, so what is a wetland today may not be classified as a wetland in six months. The only way to ensure the survival of wetlands is to get them into an organization that will buy and protect them.”

While looking across the verdant but vulnerable marsh, Ms. Burkett adds, “It’s important to protect good habitat like this for the future. A certain number of acres are needed to feed and sustain a bird. When those acres are gone, those birds are gone. If we don’t act now, they simply won’t be here for our children and our grandchildren.”

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