In a victory for river and bottomland hardwood protection in East Texas, the U.S. Forest Service, through its’ Forest Legacy Program (FLP), 2024 funded projects, has included the Big Thicket Neches River Corridor Project in Hardin, Jasper, and Orange Counties.

This project covers 39,762 acres of private forest along 63 miles of the Neches River, including 24,000 acres of bottomland hardwood forested wetlands at a cost of $28,890.000.  A conservation easement has been included in the project which will provide a buffer for Big Thicket National Preserve’s federally protected river corridor that the National Park Service manages.

The conservation easement increases protected lands in the Big Thicket Region by 35%, provides forest and habitat connectivity for wildlife, rare plants, and animals, and protects the floodplain from incompatible development on private property while forestry activities continue. 

The FLP is a conservation program administered by the U.S. Forest Service in partnership with state agencies that encourages protection of privately owned forest lands through conservation easements or land purchases.

The Sierra Club has advocated for protection of the Neches River for 50 years.  This is a step forward in implementation of that strategic goal.  East Texas has a river life-line that we can all enjoy and cherish.

Happy New Year to all Sierrans and the public, whose advocacy and hard-earned dollars bought the conservation easements on the Neches River in the Big Thicket Region.  Special Thanks go to the Texas Forest Service, The Texas Nature Conservancy, and The Conservation Fund for making this project a success.