Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge

Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge

Parks Directory of the United States / National Wildlife RefugesAddress:c/o Santa Ana NWR
Rt 2, Box 202A
Alamo, TX 78516

Phone:956-784-7500
Fax:956-787-8338
Web: southwest.fws.gov/refuges/texas/lrgv.html
Established: 1979.
Location:7 miles south of Alamo, Texas.
Facilities:Visitor center (at Santa Ana NWR).
Activities:Canoeing, hiking hunting, fishing, birdwatching.
Special Features:Not only do the Central and Mississippi flyways converge here at the southern tip of Texas, but the area is also the northernmost range for many bird species. Considered one of the most biologically diverse NWRs in the continental United States, the site represents 11 distinct biotic communities that are host or home to 1,100 types of plants, 700 vertebrate species (including 484 bird species), and more than 300 species of butterflies.
Habitats: 90,000 acres of coastal barrier islands, resacas (oxbow lakes), desert-like brushlands, riverside woodlands, and caliche hillsides. Still in an acquisition phase, the refuge will eventually encompass 132,500 acres.
Access: Portions of the refuge are open year round, from sunrise to sunset to foot traffic only.
Wild life: Two endangered cats: the ocelot and jaguarundi. Also provides habitat for speckled racer, plain chachalaca, green jay, great kiskadee, southern yellow bat, Kemp's Ridley turtle, white-tailed deer, and collared peccary.

See other parks in Texas.