On an isolated stretch of Texas coastline, conservation groups have acquired more than 3,000 acres of nearly pristine prairie to preserve as habitat for endangered whooping cranes, one of the rarest birds in North America.
Groups this month announced the $8 million purchase of two tracts in rural Calhoun County, halfway between Houston and Corpus Christi, among the last substantial pockets of unplowed acreage along the Texas coast and the winter grounds for the world’s last wild flock of whooping cranes.
“Large, intact coastal landscapes are disappearing fast, and protecting this one is a major win,” said Julie Shackelford, Texas state director at The Conservation Fund, which bought the 2,200-acre Costa Grande Ranch. Less than five percent of Texas’ native coastal prairie remains, she said…