HARLINGEN — Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge will waive its $3 vehicle entrance fee beginning Feb. 1.
The decision by Refuge Manager Boyd Blihovde was announced Sunday, citing the poor quality of the roads leading to the refuge, officials said.
FM 106 is currently undergoing a $16 million reconstruction which began in November 2015. The east-west route — of which 11.4 miles is being resurfaced — practically leads to the refuge’s entrance.
Only 40 percent of the road reconstruction is complete, and it is behind schedule. Completion date for FM 106 is now estimated for December 2017.
This section of highway has been newsworthy due to TxDOT installing wildlife crossings under the roadway in an effort to reduce ocelot mortality on nearby highways.
“The refuge has decided that until the construction of FM 106 makes it easily passable, and the condition of Buena Vista Road improves, there will not be an entrance fee to visit the refuge,” officials said in a statement.
Cameron County has received a Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) grant to improve Buena Vista Road from FM 106 to Lakeside Drive.
Cost of the Buena Vista Road refit is $3.2 million, officials said yesterday.
The grant provides 80 percent of construction costs, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will provide close to 20 percent of funds needed to complete the project. The USFWS oversees the nation’s refuge system.
Cameron County will cover 10 percent of the total cost.
This section of Buena Vista Road also will incorporate ocelot underpasses into the construction process, officials said.
Construction is expected to take place in 2018, refuge officials said.
Fees for commercial groups, such as tour companies and guides, will remain in place at $25 per vehicle per visit or $100 for the year.
