Armand Bayou Nature Center
Armand Bayou Nature Center (ABNC) is an urban preserve located in Pasadena, Texas, that protects three vanishing Gulf Coast habitats: wetland forest, coastal tallgrass prairie, and Armand bayou and its surrounding marshes. ABNC has restored and maintained habitats along the unchannelized bayou since it was founded in 1974.
The preserve provides habitat for 370 wildlife species. Their efforts conserve breeding, nesting, foraging, roosting, and wintering habitats for coastal-dependent and migratory birds. The brackish water marsh is nursery habitat for blue crab, white shrimp, speckled trout, and the commercially important menhaden.
Existing restoration efforts at ABNC has contributed to the return of wildlife like bald eagles, brown pelicans, river otters, and American alligators. Thousands of colonial nesting birds feed in the marshes and nest along the bayou, while threatened wood storks have roosted in the trees.
Middle Armand Bayou Protection Project
At the end of 2024, ABNC, in partnership with Harris County Precinct 2 and ExxonMobil, closed on 1,147 acres of habitat to conserve this area of the coast in perpetuity. This addition brings ABNC to a total of 3,947 acres, making it the largest urban wilderness preserve in Texas.
The acquired tract of land was previously owned by Exxon Mobil and known as the Clear Lake Oil Fields. Approximately half of the acquisition is remnant of Texas coastal prairie that has been overgrazed and overrun with invasive species. ABNC intends to return the land to its former state as a tall grass prairie. The other half of the land acquired is riparian forest and bayou wetlands. ABNC will restore marsh grasses and native plants along the bayou while removing invasive species.
The Galveston Bay Estuary Program provided partial funding of $390,000 to the Middle Armand Bayou Protection Project through our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding. Contributions from GBEP, Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act funds through Harris County, Harris County Flood Control District Bonds, RESTORE Act funds through TCEQ, and private foundation funds raised by ABNC totaled $11.7M, with the remaining land value donated by Exxon Mobil.
Project BenefitsRestoring this green space not only plays a significant role in protecting habitat and wildlife in the Galveston Bay watershed. Preventing development in this floodplain will reduce flood impacts on surrounding homes and businesses through stormwater retention. After major rain events, wetland areas along the bayou’s edge hold water and slowly release it back into the waterway. Impermeable surfaces from development would otherwise usher floodwaters swiftly into the bayou, threatening to wash out and flood surrounding areas. Other ecosystem services this green space will continue to provide are carbon sequestration and water quality improvement.
Additionally, ABNC benefits the community by serving as a living classroom for educational and recreational programs for all ages. ABNC has five miles of well-maintained walking trails for the public to visit, including their Discovery Loop boardwalk and their bison viewing platform.
