August 27, 2025 - Today, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, M.D., announced that the Texas General Land Office's (GLO) Coastal Management Program (CMP), in partnership with the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program (CBBEP), completed the Restoring Colonial Waterbird Populations project to enhance 180+ rookery islands across eight bay systems ranging from the mid to lower Texas coast.
"As a proud Texan who grew up near our beautiful coast and was a coastal resident for over a decade, protecting and preserving the diverse wildlife habitats that make up the Texas Gulf Coast region is a mission near to my heart," said Commissioner Buckingham. "I am thrilled that the GLO's Coastal Management Program, in partnership with the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program, was able to complete this project to manage, monitor, and restore Texas' rookery islands. These islands are essential to supporting populations of colonial waterbirds, which are vital to healthy coastal ecosystems, and include one of the last known nesting grounds of the American White Pelican in the entire Gulf Coast."
Great Blue Herons with chicks on nest platforms installed by CBBEP on New Island in Nueces Bay in May 2022
This Project of Special Merit aimed to manage, monitor, and restore Rookery Island habitats. CBBEP performed debris removal, treatment for fire ants and invasive species, repairs to nest platforms, and informational sign monitoring on 130 active waterbird colonies to enhance nesting habitats and decrease nest failure or abandonment. Over four years, CBBEP observed 22 distinct species of waterbirds using rookery islands.
Reddish Egret chicks are guarded by a parent in the Nueces Marsh Restoration islands in Nueces Bay in June 2022
Engineering designs (70%) and permitting were completed at two high priority sites, Benny Shack Island in the Lower Laguna Madre and Deadman Island in Aransas Bay and future restoration efforts will be supported by the GLO Coastal Erosion Planning and Response Act (CEPRA) Program with construction anticipated in 2026 for both rookery islands.”
Rookery island protection, restoration, and creation is an Ecological Resiliency Strategy that is essential to the GLO's 2023 Texas Coastal Resiliency Master Plan. The Restoring Colonial Waterbird Populations project was completed in March 2025.
