Ducks Unlimited announced last week it was awarded a federal North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant to enhance more than 5,728 acres of wetland habitat in Chambers and Jefferson counties along the Texas coast. Partners contributed more than $2 million to match the $1 million received from the federal grant. The project will restore high priority wintering habitat for ducks, geese, and other migratory birds within the Chenier Plain of Texas, including at TPWD sites such as the J.D. Murphree Wildlife Management Area. The project will replace degraded culverts and pipes with modern water control structures, improve existing levees, and construct new levees to provide efficiently managed wetland habitat.
“This partnership project will enhance management capabilities on approximately 1,100 acres of freshwater coastal marsh habitat,” said Jim Sutherlin, area manager at Murphree WMA for TPWD. “The aging water management infrastructure is in need of upgrades to enhance wetland habitat for wildlife and especially migratory waterfowl.”
The NAWCA grant project is made possible with financial support from partners BP America, Suemaur Exploration and Production, LLC, and Jefferson County Drainage District #6.