Photo by TPWD

PARKS

New National Wildlife Refuge: Neches River

There’s a new place to enjoy the outdoors in East Texas: the Neches River National Wildlife Refuge. Between Jacksonville and Palestine, this newly opened jewel of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will protect wintering, nesting and habitat for migratory birds and ensure protection of the bottomland hardwoods.

With 20 miles of trails ranging from a quarter-mile to 7 miles in length, visitors can enjoy a wide variety of wildlife in the refuge’s bottomland and upland forests. The refuge is open from sunrise to sunset, every day.

Historically, the area has played a key role in sustaining the Central Flyway waterfowl population. Eastern Texas and Oklahoma bottomland hardwoods, including those found on Neches River National Wildlife Refuge, represent the only significant breeding habitat of the wood duck and one of the most important wintering areas for the mallard in the Central Flyway.