September 19, 2025, the Houston Sierra Club (HSC) saw how President Donald Trump’s war against public lands is affecting the National Wildlife Refuge System near Houston. In a visit to Hudson Woods, a unit of the San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge near Angleton, the HSC found:
1. Walking trails un-mowed with hip level grass; 2. Trails covered by overgrown shrubs/small trees; 3. Trails blocked by downed trees; 4. Unreadable educational signs; 5. Feral hog wallows/rooting areas damaged trails; 6. Bathrooms vandalized; 7. Stairway handrails that weren’t attached; 8. Stairways covered with fallen tree debris.
A visit that should’ve been exciting and full of adventure was a dismal and disheartening shadow of what a National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) “showplace” should be. NWRs are for wildlife and humans and provide recreation, scenic beauty, quiet, solitude, enjoyment of natural sounds, photography, wildlife viewing, and stress release/relief from our daily lives.
Why is Hudson Woods in such deplorable shape? Over time, but particularly in 2025, funding for basic operation, maintenance, management, and personnel to conduct these tasks has been slashed enormously. Public servants that take care of our Texas Mid-Coast National Wildlife Refuges, Brazoria, San Bernard, and Big Boggy, have been reduced from 33 to 12 people, a 64% reduction. NWRs can’t adequately manage wildlife and upkeep visitor facilities on more than 125,000 acres (195 square miles) in four counties when funding cuts, personnel reductions, and increased management costs from inflation occur.
What’s needed now is public support for full funding of operation and maintenance for our Texas Mid-Coast National Wildlife Refuges. We must stop the dismantling of our National Wildlife Refuge System! Without your help our NWRs may close.
Contact U.S. Senator John Cornyn at: https://www.cornyn.senate.gov; U.S. Senator Ted Cruz at: https://www.cruz.senate.gov; and your U.S. Representative (for example, Lizzie Fletcher at: https://fletcher.house.gov), and say you want Hudson Woods and the San Bernard, Brazoria, and Big Boggy National Wildlife Refuges maintained adequately so wildlife is protected and facilities receive normal maintenance.
Contact Brandt Mannchen, 281-570-7212 and brandt_mannchen@comcast.net for more information.