An innovative archaeological dig has revealed the park's original wet prairie, buried by years of farming and development.
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Wild Texas
Out with the new, in with the old: prairie restoration at Sheldon Lake
A fierce battle is under way to vanquish invasive grasses and restore the prairie's native landscape.
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Booming Prairie Chickens at the Attwater Refuge
An early morning visit to the breeding grounds of the endangered Attwater's Prairie Chicken.
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Jupiter and its moons at McDonald Observatory
On a visit to the McDonald Observatory in West Texas, I gazed at Jupiter and the Orion Nebula and traveled in the footsteps of Galileo.
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Big Bend Ranch: West Rim Overlook Trail
The Fresno Rim trail offers a taste of a solitary desert hike - without the difficulties of most of Big Bend Ranch's more primitive routes.
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McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge
McFaddin is home to tens of thousands of wintering waterfowl, migratory songbirds and the largest collection of alligators in Texas.
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Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge
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San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge
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Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge
Sanctuaries
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Smith Oaks & The Rookery
The Rookery is a tenement for birds, where they gossip, fight and raise their families.
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Sabine Woods Sanctuary
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Boy Scout Woods Bird Sanctuary
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Bolivar Flats Shorebird Sanctuary
Trails
Big Bend: Pine Canyon Trail
bottom of a 200-foot pour-off that becomes a gushing a waterfall after ...
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Big Bend: Lost Mine Trail
The most picturesque short hike in the park, with a top-of-the-world view at the end of the trail
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Big Bend Ranch: Hoodoos Trail
The Hoodoo Trail takes you past a gathering of impassive natural rock monuments overlooking the banks of the Rio Grande in the southern arm of Big Bend Ranch State Park.
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Big Bend: Ernst Tinaja Trail
The Ernst Tinaja Trail follows a dry wash past colorful, uplifted limestone walls to a deep, dark pool carved in the canyon floor.
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