[cobirds] A Sparrows Paradise: Remnant of Ancient Virgin Coastal Prairie Needs your help

Dear CO Birders:

 I live in Texas but visited Colorado several years ago and had a great time birding with a local guide and by myself and have stayed on the list just to keep up with what has been seen in the hopse of making another visit to your area.

  I am posting this to CO Birds in the hope that some of you also support birding and land conservation nationwide. My apologies if this posting is inappropriate or offends anyone. Please pass it on to anyone who might be interested in this cause.

Susan Fortenberry
Sugar Land, TX
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Dear CO Birders:

  There is a 53 acre parcel of virgin, NEVER PLOWED Texas Coastal Prairie located in the heart of Deer Park, Harris County, TX.  Deer Park is a suburb of Houston, TX.  A list of grassland birds seen on the property includes Grasshopper, Henslow's and LeConte's Sparrows.
The BayouLandConservancy.org is trying to raise money to purchase this tiny, pristine piece of property to save it from being turned into another housing development.  It will be available for tours by the general public and birders, entomologists, botanists, school children, etc.They have until September 10th to raise the remaining $800,000 of the original $4 Million price.

  Please visit their website, there are videos of the area and lists of plants and birds which have been found there. Please come and visit if the Prairie is saved.
  If you can donate, please also see if your employer participates in corporate matching for charitable giving.
Donations can be made through the www.BayouLandConservancy.org  website
info@bayouland.org or 281-576-1634


From their website:
*"Prairie-grass-roots" fundraising effort gets reprieve*

 In the most ambitious conservation land fund drive of its kind ever launched in Texas, $3.2 million dollars was raised from individuals to help save the Deer Park Prairie - in less than one week!
  Led by Bayou Land Conservancy, with its prairie partners, the Native Prairies Association of Texas, Katy Prairie Conservancy and the Houston Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas, the fundraising blitz of the past week has gone into "overtime" for this special 53-acre piece of "platinum-quality" prairie.
 Due to the record number of individual donors who came forward, the Deer Park landowner has agreed to extend the deadline from August 20th to September 10th, providing Bayou Land Conservancy with 3 more weeks to raise the remaining $800,000 necessary for the $4 million purchase.
  "The turnout of individual donors in such a condensed time period has been nothing less than phenomenal," said Jennifer Lorenz, Executive Director of Bayou Land Conservancy. In her 20 years of land conservation fundraising experience "there has been no comparison to the donors of this campaign who expressed genuine shock that such an ancient prairie still existed, and that conservation organizations were trying to compete with hot housing market development pressure. Their enthusiasm was palpable."
  Should Bayou Land Conservancy be successful with the new extended timeline, the land will be donated directly to the Native Prairies Association of Texas who will manage the health of the prairie and provide guided tours. Bayou Land Conservancy will place a conservation easement over the property to permanently protect the land - which would disallow the 250 houses currently planned for the acreage and any other future development.
  The City of Deer Park has promised pedestrian access to the site for weekend public enjoyment. Students in the adjacent subdivisions would have pedestrian bridge access through the prairie for their attendance at nearby College Park Elementary.
 

Visit the BayouLandConservancy website for more details.
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