Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge

Bahia Grande is considered one of the largest and most successful coastal wetland restoration projects in the United States. In 2005, a pilot channel was constructed that connected the Brownsville Ship Channel to the Bahia Grande and the waters began flowing into the main basin and refilling the wetland. In 2007, two interior channels were cut that reconnected the larger basin to two smaller interior basins – the Laguna Larga and the Little Laguna Madre. This ensured natural tidal flow and exchange throughout the whole system. With the hydrology restored, the tidally affected lagoon system is once again an important nursery for finfish such as red drum, and shellfish such as shrimp and blue crab. The interior islands are attracting breeding waterbirds such as gull-billed terns, skimmers and more recently the first nesting pair of brown pelicans in south Texas since the 1920’s.