Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge
{{Short description|Wildlife refuge in Chambers County, Texas}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name = Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge
| photo = AnahuacNationalWildlifeRefuge.JPG
| photo_caption = Entrance sign displaying former name
| iucn_category = IV
| map = USA Texas#USA |relief=1
| map_width = 240
| map_caption =
| location = Chambers County, Texas, United States
| nearest_city = Anahuac, Texas
| coordinates = {{coord|29|34|0|N|94|28|0|W|display=inline, title}}
| area = {{convert|34000|acre|km2|abbr=on|disp=or}}
| established =
| visitation_num =
| visitation_year =
| governing_body = United States Fish and Wildlife Service
| website = [https://www.fws.gov/refuge/jocelyn-nungaray/ Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge]
}}
The Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge, formerly the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, is a wildlife conservation area along the coast of Texas, southeast of Anahuac, Texas. It borders the East Bay, part of the Galveston Bay complex.
History
Established in 1963 as the Anahuac NWR, the Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge is located on the upper Texas Coast in Chambers County. The refuge protects approximately {{convert|34000|acre|km2}} of coastal marsh and prairies. The refuge offers opportunities for fishing, waterfowl hunting, paddling, and wildlife viewing. A large network of volunteers contributes thousands of hours in support of the refuge.
In the winter, the refuge hosts large concentrations of waterfowl, making it a popular site for public hunting. Other signature species are American alligator, bobcat, yellow rail, and purple gallinule. Birdwatchers find the refuge an excellent place to observe neotropical migrants in the spring and fall. Other species sought by birdwatchers include American bittern, seaside sparrow, fulvous whistling-duck and black rail. Volunteers have been working to compile a butterfly list for the refuge. More than 60 species have been identified, including the extremely localized bay skipper (Euphyes bayensis).
Recent projects to enhance and restore the habitat at the refuge include control of invasive species like Chinese tallow, prairie restoration, creation of moist soil areas, and a colonial waterbird rookery.{{cite web| title=BigBoggy Refuge | author=FWS | publisher=FWS.gov| date=September 2008 | access-date=2008-09-20|url=http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/anahuac/index.html| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080917091347/http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/anahuac/index.html| archive-date= 17 September 2008 | url-status= live}}
Three other national wildlife refuges on the Texas coast — Brazoria, San Bernard and Big Boggy — form a vital complex of coastal wetlands harboring more than 300 bird species.{{cite web| title=San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge| author=FWS | publisher=FWS.gov| date=September 2008 | access-date=2008-09-20|url=http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/sanbern/index.html}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}} Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge is one of more than 560 refuges that comprise the U.S. National Wildlife Refuge System, a national network of lands and waters set aside for the benefit of wildlife. It has been designated as a site of international importance[http://www.manomet.org/WHSRN/viewsite-new.php?id=81 Jocelyn Nungaray National Refuge]{{dead link|date=July 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}, WHSRN to shorebirds by the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network.[http://www.whsrn.org/about-whsrn WHSRN: A Strategy for Saving Shorebirds], Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network The refuge is designated as part of the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail, a network of trails and wildlife viewing sites established by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
On March 4, 2025, during his second term's first address to a Joint Session of Congress, President Donald Trump announced he had renamed the refuge after Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old girl from nearby Houston who was murdered.{{Cite web|title=Honoring Jocelyn Nungaray|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/honoring-jocelyn-nungaray/|date=March 4, 2025|author=The White House}}
Gallery
Image:AnahuacSnowGeese.jpg|Snow geese flying in the refuge
File:Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge (5A) Chambers Co. TX; 1 Dec 2018.jpg|Gulf coastal grassland and prairie habitat
File:AnahuacxNWRHQ.JPG|Headquarters
Image:Xylocopa_micans-female_wings.jpg|Southern carpenter bee
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite web| title=Anahuac Refuge | author=FWS | publisher=FWS.gov| date=September 2008 | access-date=2008-09-20|url=http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/anahuac/index.html| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080917091347/http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/anahuac/index.html| archive-date= 17 September 2008 | url-status= live}}
External links
{{Commons category|Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge}}
- [http://friendsofanahuacnwr.com/ Friends of Anahuac Refuge].
- [https://www.fws.gov/refuge/jocelyn-nungaray USFWS Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge].
{{Galveston Bay Area}}
{{Protected areas of Texas}}
{{National Wildlife Refuges of the United States}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1963 establishments in Texas
Category:Protected areas established in 1963
Category:National Wildlife Refuges in Texas
Category:Landforms of Chambers County, Texas