FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 3, 2016
Media contact: Lydia Saldaña
817.851.5729
lsaldana@tpwf.org
Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation (TPWF) is partnering with Dow AgroSciences to continue efforts to restore the native prairie landscape at Powderhorn Ranch. The 17,351-acre ranch will one day become a state park and wildlife management area. Dow is donating 2,500 pounds of herbicide to treat the running live oak on the ranch to improve wildlife habitat.
“We have a longstanding relationship with Texas Parks and Wildlife and have been proud to partner at Sea Center Texas, among other projects,” said Casey Onstot, Dow AgroSciences’ Portfolio Marketing Leader for Range and Pasture Industrial Vegetation Management, U.S. “We’re pleased to make a contribution to help restore native prairie grasslands to Powderhorn Ranch.”
Powderhorn Ranch was acquired in 2014 by TPWF and will be turned over to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in a few years. In the meantime, habitat restoration, infrastructure repair and public use planning are underway. More than 6,000 acres of running live oak will eventually be treated. Running live oak chokes out native grasses and degrades wildlife habitat. In the last year, 2,800 acres have been treated with a grant from the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program.
“This donation is helping to further important habitat restoration work at Powderhorn,” said Anne Brown, TPWF’s executive director. “We’re thankful for the contribution and look forward to continued partnerships to conserve this vital piece of Texas.”
Along with habitat restoration, TPWF has overseen facility repairs on the property. Limited public use opportunities are being developed, and two youth hunts on the property are scheduled for December. Other public use options, such as paddling and birding, are being explored for 2017.
A .pdf version of this press release is available.
All TPWF news releases available online: tpwf.org/media/press-releases
Since 1991, Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation (TPWF) has leveraged public funds with private philanthropy to advance Texas’ proud outdoor traditions and conserve our state’s wildlife, habitat, recreational areas, and natural resources. Since its inception, TPWF has raised more than $125 million to help ensure that all Texans, today and in the future, can enjoy the wild things and wild places in Texas.
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