Media Contact for This Release: Rob McCorkle, (512) 389-4537, robert.mccorkle@tpwd.state.tx.us

Oct. 13, 2003

Gas Up and Hit the New Heart of Texas Wildlife Trail

AUSTIN, Texas — A German couple has transformed an overgrazed sheep and goat ranch in the hardscrabble hills of Bandera County into one of the premiere nature sites on the western segment of the new Heart of Texas Wildlife Trail that debuts in October. The two-branch driving trail encompasses 55 counties — starting at the Rio Grande, crossing the Edwards Plateau and culminating on the rolling plains near San Angelo and Abilene.

Marianne and Peter Bonenberger's nature preserve is located in the Texas Hill Country close to where the eastern and western portions of the Heart of Texas Wildlife Trails meet. Bear Springs Blossom Nature Preserve (Site #47) occupies 100 acres on the Bandera Loop of the Heart of Texas-West (HOTW) segment of the trail that's designed to showcase Texas' world-class wildlife and unique cultural heritage, promote conservation and generate tourism dollars.

During the past eight years, the Bonenbergers have employed proven conservation methods, renewable energy, brain and brawn to transform their property north of Pipe Creek into a living example of how to live in harmony with nature. Select removal of cedar trees and extensive mulching of depleted hillside soils have resulted in the regeneration of the land. Their efforts have resulted in the regrowth of native grasses and shrubs, better retention of groundwater and increased biodiversity at Bear Springs Blossom represented by 40 species of birds, a number of healthy madrone and cherry trees.

Two separate maps guide motorists to noteworthy sites like Bear Springs Blossom along the eastern and western branches of the Heart of Texas Wildlife Trail. The Heart of Texas-East (HOTE) segment incorporates key natural and cultural sites along the Interstate 35 and U.S. 183 corridors from Laredo to Brownwood. The Heart of Texas-West (HOTW) leg begins in the brushy borderlands near Eagle Pass and Del Rio, crosses the western portion of the Edwards Plateau west of U.S. 83 and heads up through Uvalde and Junction to San Angelo.

In all, the Heart of Texas Wildlife Trail features a total of 239 wildlife-viewing sites along south and central Texas highways and byways. The HOTE trail map, featuring 14 separate loops and 124 sites, is being distributed this week. The HOTW trail map, with 12 loops and 115 sites, is expected to be available toward the end of the month or in November. Highway signs marking sites along both trails will begin going up later this fall.

A limited quantity of wildlife trail maps will be available for free at the state's Travel Information Centers in Langtry, Laredo and elsewhere. The maps also may be purchased for $3 each through the Texas Cooperative Extension Bookstore on-line (http://tcebookstore.org) or by calling (888) 900-2577.

The opening of the Heart of Texas Wildlife Trail comes on the heels of the Panhandle Plains Wildlife Trail opening in August. A third trail — the Prairie and Pineywoods Trail — is slated for completion in late 2004. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and local communities developed the Heart of Texas and Panhandle Plains trails using almost $1 million in federal transportation funds funneled through the Texas Transportation Commission, and $237,120 in matching funds from corporations, foundations, local communities and conservation groups.

"What makes the Heart of Texas trail especially noteworthy is its diversity," said Linda Campbell, TPWD's nature tourism coordinator. "There are secluded cabins, cozy B&Bs, beautiful ranches, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and some of the top state parks and wildlife management areas, to name a few. Even seasoned Hill Country travelers will be surprised to find new 'hidden treasures' along the trail."

Among the many remarkable destinations included in the two maps are: the state's oldest Spanish mission, its largest bat populations, magnificent caverns, prehistoric rock art, one of the state's last suspension bridges, springs with rare freshwater jellyfish, two vintage steam trains and the worlds' largest surviving herd of scimitar-horned oryx.

The state-sponsored wildlife trails serve to unite the Bonenbergers and other conservation-minded landowners with governmental entities, businesses and conservation organizations to encourage a mostly urban populace to get outdoors and experience the state's remarkable biological and cultural diversity, Campbell explained. She said the trails make it easy for people to reconnect with nature and help them better understand the importance of conserving wildlife and habitat.

While much of the state's outstanding flora and fauna are found in popular public places, some exist on harder-to-access private ranches and nature preserves, or in obscure urban pocket parks off the beaten path. The wildlife trail maps, which list wildlife-viewing sites that correspond to numbered brown roadside signs illustrated with the trails' roadrunner logo, help lift the veil on many of these "hidden jewels" where wildflowers, springs, rivers, bats, birds and butterflies abound.

At stops along the trails, travelers can observe migrating Monarch butterflies and neotropical bird species, keep an eye out for stealthy bobcats and javelina, relax in a nature lodge, view bison and longhorns, and even watch Angora goats being sheared.

The colorful trail maps provide information about site locations, highlights of what there is to see at each locale and detailed directions to the sites organized into color-coded trail segments, or loops, such as the Balcones Loop, Nueces Loop and Pedernales Valley Loop. Geometric symbols on the map are shaped and colored to denote whether a particular viewing site opens seasonally or daily, charges a fee, offers overnight accommodations, allows day use only or requires prior consent for property access.

The Great Texas Wildlife Trails are patterned after the 3-year-old, $1.4 million Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail that designated 310 marked bird and wildlife-viewing hotspots along 700 miles of roadway in 41 coastal counties. TPWD began distribution of coastal maps in 1996 — with the last one being published in 2000. Since then, nearly 400,000 birding trail maps have been distributed by TPWD to people from all over the world and spawned similar birding trail projects in more than a dozen states and Canada.

"The trails bring tourism dollars to rural communities, raise awareness about Texas wildlife and habitats, provide recreational opportunity, build public support for conservation and provide economic incentives for landowners and communities to conserve and manage wildlife habitats," Campbell pointed out. "Nature tourism provides a way to diversify rural economies while maintaining the rural lifestyle so important to residents."

For more information about the Great Texas Wildlife Trails, call (512) 389-4396, or visit the Web (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/birdingtrails/).

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