05-06 | The Nature Conservancy, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Announce Purchase of Heath Canyon Ranch near Big Bend National Park

May 6, 2025

Media Contact: TPWD News, Business Hours, 512-389-8030

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AUSTIN — The Nature Conservancy in Texas (TNC) and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) are pleased to announce the purchase of Heath Canyon Ranch, a 671-acre property located just outside Big Bend National Park.

TNC purchased the property, which will be managed by TPWD as part of the Black Gap Wildlife Management Area (WMA), for nearly $1.2 million with funding from Horizon Foundation, WoodNext Foundation, Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation and Meta Alice Keith Bratten Foundation.

“We are thrilled that the property is now in the hands of TPWD, and that this beautiful location along the river will continue to be available for the enjoyment of Texans and visitors alike while ensuring the protection of the habitat for wildlife to thrive,” said Suzanne Scott, State Director for The Nature Conservancy in Texas.

The acquisition of Heath Canyon Ranch is a significant step toward ongoing conservation efforts to protect vulnerable ecosystems across West Texas while also providing Texans with access to park lands for recreation.

“We are fortunate to have TNC as a conservation partner and through their generous support, TPWD is able to grow our public lands footprint,” said Alan Cain, TPWD Wildlife Division Director. “The Heath Canyon addition will expand outdoor recreational opportunities from river access, to hiking, wildlife viewing and public hunting. We are excited for Texans to enjoy this unique property.”

Located between Big Bend National Park, Black Gap WMA, other state-owned lands and the nearly 10,000-acre Brushy Canyon Preserve, Heath Canyon Ranch once created a considerable gap in a vast area of protected lands. Its purchase preserves a tract of high quality, relatively unaltered wildlife habitat surrounded by other protected areas. This place of high ecological diversity serves as a refuge for a variety of species, including more than 250 plant species — several of which are found nowhere else on earth.

The property also includes 1.2 miles of river frontage on a stretch of the Rio Grande that flows year-round and is an important site for public access to protected lands in the area. The ranch is the only take-out point for the popular Boquillas Canyon multi-day river trip through Big Bend National Park and one of the only river access points for the remote and scenic Lower Canyons of the Rio Grande—Texas’ only designated National Wild and Scenic River. TPWD and NPS plan to establish a long-term natural resource management plan and a system for providing sustainable low-impact public access.

“Black Gap WMA looks forward to continuing to work with all our neighbors and partners that helped with this purchase and can’t express enough how excited we are to acquire this property,” said Travis Smith, TPWD Black Gap WMA Biologist. “This is an amazing addition to the WMA and will not only ensure river access for future generations but protect a very unique habitat.”

Jeff Francell, Associate Director of Land Protection for The Nature Conservancy in Texas, shared, “As a former river guide, I am extremely pleased that The Nature Conservancy, along with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and several private foundations, were able to work so quickly to secure the property, funding and long-term management of this critical natural resource and public access point to the Wild and Scenic Rio Grande River.”

TNC, TPWD and NPS have a long history of working together to accomplish large-scale land and water protection in the Big Bend area, including the expansion of the national park. This project has helped further successful conservation work in a region that hosts one of the nation’s most important ecosystems and contains immense biological and cultural resources.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department mission balances outdoor recreation and sustainable use of resources with conservation and management of natural and cultural resources. The department operates 89 Texas state parks, natural areas and historic sites, more than 50 wildlife management areas, three saltwater fish hatcheries and five freshwater hatcheries. TPWD game wardens and wildlife and fisheries biologists work in every Texas county, enforcing laws and encouraging management to conserve fish and wildlife. The agency has 13 internal divisions: Wildlife, Coastal Fisheries, Inland Fisheries, Law Enforcement, Legal, State Parks, Infrastructure, Communications, Financial Resources, Human Resources, Support Resources, Information Technology and the Executive Office.

The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more sustainable. To learn more about our work in Texas, visit nature.org/texas.