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Join Galveston Bay Foundation as we work around the Bay to protect the vital natural resource we're all connected to.
Working alongside private landowners, Galveston Bay Foundation has conserved a total of 17,500 acres of critical coastal habitat in and around Galveston Bay. But conservation is more than just acres preserved – it can be a solution for challenges faced by families and communities adding overall quality of life and improving community resilience against coastal challenges. Conserved land provides clean water, recreational opportunities, scenic beauty, a refuge for wildlife, and ensures a vibrant agricultural future. It is also one of the most profound ways a landowner can leave a legacy of land for future generations.
Galveston Bay Foundation is a nationally accredited land trust. Since 2013, we’ve been accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, a mark of distinction that demonstrates our commitment to strict national standards for excellence in conservation and organizational management. Each 5-year accredited term involves a thorough review of our conservation practices and overall organizational health. This process helps ensure that our conservation work is permanent and that our promise of perpetual conservation is realized.
Our conservation efforts focus on a wide range of habitats including freshwater and estuarine wetlands, tallgrass prairies, coastal forests and agricultural lands. From the sand dunes on the Gulf of Mexico, across vast marshes and prairies, to the southern tip of the East Texas Pineywoods, Galveston Bay Foundation’s preserves showcase the diversity of habitat types within the Galveston Bay watershed. Stewardship on our preserves is focused on improving local water quality, providing habitat for wildlife and fisheries, and restoring native plant communities.
Turtle Bayou Nature Preserve: Hike through coastal natural areas, observe wildlife from elevated viewing platforms, and paddle down scenic Turtle Bayou daily at Turtle Bayou Nature Preserve. Galveston Bay Foundation manages this 514-acres preserve of wetland, prairie and forested habitats owned by the Chambers Liberty Counties Navigation District along Turtle Bayou and Lake Anahuac in Chambers County.
Exploration Green: Exploration Green is a 200-acre public green space located in the heart of Clear Lake, dedicated to conservation, recreation and flood control. The Clear Lake City Water Authority (CLCWA) purchased the defunct Clear Lake Golf Course property to create a state-of-the-art storm water detention and retention system. In 2014, the CLCWA established a Conservation Easement in partnership with Galveston Bay Foundation, ensuring that Exploration Green will remain permanently secure from future commercial development.
Private land conservation is vitally important to preserving the natural heritage of Texas. Since 95% of Texas is privately owned, land trusts like Galveston Bay Foundation rely on partnerships with landowners to accomplish habitat and stewardship goals. A conservation easement is a voluntary agreement between a land trust and a landowner that allows the landowner to permanently restrict future land uses on their property to protect conservation values. While the landowner maintains ownership of the land, Galveston Bay Foundation ensures that the negotiated restrictions within the agreement are maintained and enforced with future landowners.
Conservation easements are a special way for landowners to leave a legacy of conservation for future generations. To learn more, contact Matt Singer at msinger@galvbay.org or 281 332 3381 x206.
