ARANSAS COUNTY, Texas — Aransas County has acquired 950 acres of natural habitat in Rockport through a grant from the Texas General Land Office's Coastal Management Program.
The $2.35 million acquisition includes prairies, marshes and wetlands that will be preserved for future generations.
"A lot of people would like to see more land preserved and less development, but it's a balance," Aransas First Land Trust board member, Shelly Steckler said.
The property, known as Copano Cove Ranch, is located west of Farm Road 1781 and extends to the bay. It contains diverse wildlife and native plants, including various bird species and wildflowers.
"It's really critical to identify the places where we can conserve these things," real estate broker, Janae Evans said.
The acquisition was made possible through collaboration between local leaders and groups who worked together to secure funding from the state.
"There are properties in the county that could potentially qualify for grant money, they began researching different properties all across the county," Evans said.
County Judge Ray Garza considers the purchase a significant achievement for the community.
"Benefits the public access, not developing it, keeping it for generations, ecotourism and flood mitigation," Garza said.
As Aransas First Land Trust continues to do it's own work in protecting hundreds of acres of sensitive habitat, they can celebrate the preservation of Copano Cove Ranch.
"This acquisition is fulfilling our mission of preserving habitat and eventually it will be open to the public and they'll be some trail systems and the public can just come in and we'll probably do some educational components," Steckler said.
Moving forward, the county will develop plans for public access and ecotourism that will benefit Rockport and neighboring communities.
