Ecoregional Assessments and Conservation Plans

Map of Texas ecoregions (large)

The Nature Conservancy's mission is to conserve a set of places that will ensure the long-term survival of all native species and communities -- not just those that are threatened. We call these places conservation areas. We plan to protect networks of these conservation areas across ecoregions (large landscapes defined by their distinct climate, geology and native plant and animal species). Using a collaborative, science-based approach to conservation, The Nature Conservancy first creates ecoregional assessments for each ecoregion. These assessments tell us at a coarse-scale level where we should work first: where biodiversity is concentrated, where threats are greatest, and where conservation efforts may be most needed and effective. These priority locations are call conservation areas.

Mexican racer (Coluber constrictor oaxaca) - © Mike Duran

Once conservation areas are identified at an ecoregional level, we develop separate conservation area plans for them. Conservation area plans are both biological assessments (at a finer scale than is possible with ecoregional assessments) and strategic workplans that detail how conservation will be achieved in a real-world context. For more details and methodology related to ecoregional assessments or conservation area plans, see Conservation by Design.

Ecoregional Assessments

(Note: Assessment materials for some ecoregions are still being developed. Please check back!)

Arizona - New Mexico Mountains
Central Mixed - Grass Prairie
Central Shortgrass Prairie
Chihuahuan Desert (English) (Spanish)
Crosstimbers and Southern Tallgrass Prairies
Edwards Plateau Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes
Northern Gulf Coast
Tamaulipan Thornscrub
Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain
West Gulf Coastal Plain

Conservation Area Plans

To view summaries of conservation area plans for Texas, scroll down. The full documents can be downloaded from ConserveOnline, the Conservancy’s online library. Search by state or by conservation area name.

Chihuahuan Desert

1.    Independence Creek Preserve: West Texas, near Sheffield and the lower Pecos River
2.    Davis Mountains: West Texas, near Fort Davis (north of Big Bend National Park)
3.    Devils River Conservation Area: West Texas, along the Devils River north of Del Rio

Crosstimbers and Southern Tallgrass

4. Lennox Woods Preserve: North Texas
5. Clymer Meadow: North Texas, in Celest (near McKinney)

Edwards Plateau (Texas Hill Country)

6.    Barton Creek Habitat Preserve: near Austin, in Bee Cave
7.    Bandera Canyonlands Conservation Area: west of Medina
8.    Eckert James River Bat Cave Community Action Plan (full document): near Mason
9. Blanco River Conservation Area: along the Blanco River, surrounding Blanco and Wimberley

See also, Devils River (Chihuahuan Desert)

See also, Independence Creek (Chihuahuan Desert)

Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes

10.  Texas City Prairie Preserve: in Texas City, along the Gulf Coast
11.   Mustang Island: surrounds Aransas, north of Corpus Christi
12.  Texas Portion of the Laguna Madre Site: spans the coast from Corpus Christi to Mexico, extends west to Kenedy and Kleberg Counties
13.   West Galveston Bay (Hoskins Mound): West Bay, south of Galveston and Texas City
14. Refugio-Goliad Prairie Conservation Area: near Victoria to west of Goliad
15. Mad Island Marsh-Oyster Lake Conservation Area: Texas mid-coast, near Matagorda
16. Columbia Bottomlands Conservation Area: also known as Austin’s Woods, near the Brazoria and San Bernard National Wildlife Refuges
17. Tamaulipan Thornscrub
18. Boscaje de la Palma Conservation Area and Southmost Preserve: along the Texas/Mexico border, east of Brownsville

Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain

19. Big Thicket-Sandylands Complex: East Texas, adjacent to the Big Thicket National Preserve
20. Longleaf Ridge Conservation Area: East Texas, near Lufkin
21.  San Augustine Glades Conservation Area: East Texas, east of Nacogdoches

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