Last Tuesday, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Nature Conservancy of Texas announced that the conservancy has purchased the 7,000-acre Fresno Ranch and plans to sell it to TPWD for the same purchase price of about $2.6 million. The property will be added to Big Bend Ranch State Park, culminating 20 years of work to remove the largest remaining in-holding inside Texas’ biggest state park. The acquisition expands hiking and public access, and protects desert springs, Rio Grande river frontage, diverse wildlife and rich cultural resources.
“The Fresno Ranch acquisition opens up key areas in the park, places the public couldn’t go before,” said Scott Boruff, deputy executive director for operations, in a joint news release. “Plus, the mouth of Fresno Creek is the one remaining large tract along the river inside the park that could have been subject to adverse development. So this protects one of the most scenic and important areas at Big Bend Ranch.” The acquisition has been widely covered in news media throughout the state.