The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), in partnership with the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (RESTORE Council) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC), has secured a conservation easement on O’Connor Ranch in Goliad County. This action protects approximately 6,410 acres of coastal prairie habitat, which is among the largest remaining in Texas.
Steven Schar, Deputy Executive Director with TCEQ and Governor Greg Abbott’s designee to the RESTORE Council, stated, “This is a huge milestone, not only for Texas, but the entire Gulf Coast. This is the largest conservation easement acquired to-date by the RESTORE Council and ensures critical coastal habitat will remain intact for future generations.”
The total cost of the conservation easement was $8.863 million. Of this amount, $7.6 million came from a grant administered by TCEQ as Texas’ representative to the RESTORE Council, while The Nature Conservancy provided the remaining funds.
Mary Walker, Executive Director of the RESTORE Council, said, “The RESTORE Council is very pleased to support the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality’s and The Nature Conservancy’s efforts to protect critical coastal prairie habitat on Texas family ranchlands. Conservation of such valuable natural habitat is a key strategy to support ecosystem health, and effective partnerships such as this one are essential to Gulf restoration success. We commend TCEQ and TNC for this meaningful effort to advance Gulf Coast restoration and maintain the productivity of these important agricultural lands.”
The RESTORE Council includes governors from all five Gulf states along with leaders from six federal agencies. This transaction marks both the first conservation easement approved by the council and represents its largest land protection effort funded under the RESTORE Act in the Gulf region. O’Connor Ranch will continue operating as a private cattle ranch while safeguarding its grassland against development and fragmentation. The preserved area will help reduce flood and hurricane impacts, improve air and water quality, and store carbon.
Jeff Francell, associate director of land protection for TNC in Texas, commented: “The O’Connor Ranch marks conservation milestones from one of the first major permanent protections in Texas’ largest intact coastal prairie to the first conservation easement purchased with RESTORE funding. The Nature Conservancy is grateful for this collaborative effort that helped make securing a family legacy in a key conservation area possible.”
Funds administered through Texas’ RESTORE program originate from civil penalties assessed after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill under federal law passed in 2012. These resources support projects aimed at ecological restoration, economic growth, coastal protection, and resilience along Texas’ Gulf Coast.
The Nature Conservancy operates globally with a mission focused on conserving land and water through science-based solutions that benefit both nature and people.
