Wallisville Lake

Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge (originally named Anahuac) was
established in 1963 to provide wintering and migration habitat for ducks and
geese. We protect the coastal marsh for migratory and resident waterfowl,
shorebirds, and waterbirds. The refuge is one of three refuges in the Texas
Chenier Plain Wildlife Refuge Complex, and one of a string of wildlife refuges
situated on the Gulf of America. We are a designated Globally Important Bird
Area, Monarch Waystation, and a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network
Site of International Importance. The 39,000-acre refuge is located on the
Texas Gulf Coast just outside the Houston, Texas metropolitan area.

Long before her name stood at the entrance of a national wildlife refuge,
Jocelyn Nungaray was known by her family and friends as a girl with a big
spirit, who loved animals and enjoyed spending time in nature.

Jocelyn tragically lost her life in Houston, Texas in June 2024. To help honor
her memory and to pay tribute to her compassion for animals, U.S. Secretary of
the Interior Doug Burgum signed a Secretary’s Order on March 10 renaming the
Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge in Texas to the Jocelyn Nungaray National
Wildlife Refuge, following an executive order issued by President Donald J.
Trump.

In world that often moves too fast, and forgets so much, the Jocelyn Nungaray
National Wildlife Refuge is a place to remember—not only the gentle spirit of
the young girl whose love for nature inspired its name, but the deeper truths
she understood so well: that every creature matters, and every living thing
deserves a home.

Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge (originally named Anahuac) was established in 1963 to provide wintering and migration habitat for ducks and geese. We protect the coastal marsh for migratory and resident waterfowl, shorebirds, and waterbirds. The refuge is one of three refuges in the Texas Chenier Plain Wildlife Refuge Complex, and one of a string of wildlife refuges situated on the Gulf of America. We are a designated Globally Important Bird Area, Monarch Waystation, and a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network Site of International Importance. The 39,000-acre refuge is located on the Texas Gulf Coast just outside the Houston, Texas metropolitan area. Long before her name stood at the entrance of a national wildlife refuge, <a href="https://fws.gov/node/5285711" rel="nofollow">Jocelyn Nungaray</a> was known by her family and friends as a girl with a big spirit, who loved animals and enjoyed spending time in nature. Jocelyn tragically lost her life in Houston, Texas in June 2024. To help honor her memory and to pay tribute to her compassion for animals, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum signed a <a href="https://www.doi.gov/document-library/secretary-order/so-3425-renaming-anahuac-national-wildlife-refuge-honor-jocelyn" rel="nofollow">Secretary’s Order</a> on March 10 renaming the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge in Texas to the Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge, following an executive order issued by President Donald J. Trump.   In world that often moves too fast, and forgets so much, the Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge is a place to remember—not only the gentle spirit of the young girl whose love for nature inspired its name, but the deeper truths she understood so well: that every creature matters, and every living thing deserves a home.

Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge

Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge

The 30,000-acre Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1994
to protect what was once a much larger, frequently flooded, bottomland
hardwood forest ecosystem along the Trinity River. It is one of only 14
priority bottomland sites identified for protection in the Texas Bottomland
Hardwood Preservation Program. Although not fully surveyed, the refuge
contains more than 635 plant species and another 350 vertebrate species,
including more than 200 birds, 60 fish, 40 mammals, and 50 reptiles and
amphibians. Over 980 moth species have been documented within one acre of the
refuge administrative office. The refuge primarily consists of a broad, flat
floodplain, but also features numerous sloughs, oxbows, artesian wells, and
tributaries.

The bottomland hardwood forest in Liberty County is rich in biodiversity as
well as history. The Spanish established Nuestra Señora de la Luz Mission and
San Agustín de Ahumada Presidio in 1756; the mission was for the Akokisa and
Bidai Indians. Spanish maps in 1757 showed the Atascosito settlement and a
Spanish military road known as the Atascosito Road, which crossed the Trinity
River near the present site of Liberty. Ten years later the Marqués de Rubí
included the area in his tour of inspection, but parts of the mission were
destroyed by a storm in 1766 and the presidio was abandoned in 1772. According
to some sources, a trading-post settlement named Arkokisa or Arkosisa
(variants of Akokisa) existed from roughly 1770 to 1790 near what later became
the town of Liberty.

The 30,000-acre Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1994 to protect what was once a much larger, frequently flooded, bottomland hardwood forest ecosystem along the Trinity River. It is one of only 14 priority bottomland sites identified for protection in the Texas Bottomland Hardwood Preservation Program. Although not fully surveyed, the refuge contains more than 635 plant species and another 350 vertebrate species, including more than 200 birds, 60 fish, 40 mammals, and 50 reptiles and amphibians. Over 980 moth species have been documented within one acre of the refuge administrative office. The refuge primarily consists of a broad, flat floodplain, but also features numerous sloughs, oxbows, artesian wells, and tributaries. The bottomland hardwood forest in Liberty County is rich in biodiversity as well as history. The Spanish established Nuestra Señora de la Luz Mission and San Agustín de Ahumada Presidio in 1756; the mission was for the Akokisa and Bidai Indians. Spanish maps in 1757 showed the Atascosito settlement and a Spanish military road known as the Atascosito Road, which crossed the Trinity River near the present site of Liberty. Ten years later the Marqués de Rubí included the area in his tour of inspection, but parts of the mission were destroyed by a storm in 1766 and the presidio was abandoned in 1772. According to some sources, a trading-post settlement named Arkokisa or Arkosisa (variants of Akokisa) existed from roughly 1770 to 1790 near what later became the town of Liberty.

Wallisville Lake

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Nearby Parks

Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge

Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge