Nature center wait worth it for Willacy officials

PORT MANSFIELD — Perched along the banks of the Laguna Madre, Willacy County’s new nature center overlooks a coastline teeming with wildlife.

The county, whose pristine ranchlands draw tourists to such rare species as the ferruginous pygmy owl, is home to one of the United States’ last remaining populations of endangered ocelots.

Yesterday, county officials opened the Willacy County Coastal Land Resource Center at the Laguna Point Recreation Area along Port Mansfield’s southern end.

For more than five years, county leaders have planned to use a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service grant to fund the $500,000 project aimed at helping draw eco-tourism while offering an outdoor classroom to teach students about the area’s diverse wildlife and natural habitat.

“We are proud to have a nature center to showcase the unique and rich eco-system of the Laguna Madre hyper-saline lagoon and the dry-terrain thicket-brush that protects wildlife and the endangered ocelot,” County Judge Aurelio Guerra stated.

The 1,700-square-foot nature center features meeting rooms along with an $80,000 observation deck and a $75,000 boardwalk running along the coastline.

Who’s in charge?

To operate the center, the county hired Jessica Rodriguez-Garcida, the new community development specialist, at a salary of $40,000.

For now, she said, she will be working on planning and scheduling programs.

Rodriguez-Garcida said she plans to feature wildlife displays while hosting tours.

“It’s going to have an educational component for all visitors — education that enhances our community’s natural resources,” she said.

Rodriguez-Garcida, who holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Texas-Pan American, has worked as a high school teacher.

How will it help?

The center stands next to the county’s new $1.5 million park featuring a 500-foot fishing pier.

Local leaders are counting on the nature center to draw eco-tourists to help diversify Port Mansfield’s tourist base made up of anglers.

“I hope it will draw people to town,” Tom Floyd, president of the Port Mansfield Chamber of Commerce, said. “I think it dresses up the area and creates a new avenue for traffic for people to come and enjoy the area.”

In Raymondville, officials are counting on the nature center to drive eco-tourists to its hotels and restaurants, Mayor Gilbert Gonzales said.

“It’s going to expand our horizons. It’s a starting point for future economic development in our area and a stepping stone for the future growth of our whole community,” Gonzales said. “It’s a big shot in the arm, especially for Port Mansfield. It will bring more people to the port besides fishermen.”

Gonzales said the center will help teach students about the area’s rich wildlife and diverse natural habitat.

“I really believe in education — those are our future leaders,” Gonzales said. “It’s going to bring education, not only to the high-school level.”

The nature center might provide an outdoor classroom for students at the nearby San Perlita school district.

“Any facility that takes advantage of the natural resources in Willacy County will be beneficial to our students,” Superintendent Albert Peña said.

How we got here

For more than five years, county leaders have been planning the nature center.

At first, officials planned to develop the center on four acres businessman Joe Wetegrove wanted to donate about 1.5 miles east of Raymondville on State Highway 186.

But about three years ago, county officials scrapped those plans after they found Wetegrove had not donated the land but had transferred the property as a conservation easement, or land that would revert to him if the county did not use it to develop a nature center.

So officials selected Port Mansfield’s southern edge as the project’s site.