284 acres of Texas Coastal Prairie and Marsh Protected Forever

Another beautiful piece of Texas is permanently protected. The Roger Chambers Ranch in Matagorda County is a 284-acre property along Tres Palacios Bay outside the small town of Collegeport. The coastal prairie and marsh habitats serve as refuge for an abundance of native mammals, birds, and fish and provide rich grazing for livestock. Scenic views of open space along Tres Palacios Bay and the historic Collegeport cemetery are here to stay, forever.

The Road to Conservation

After more than 3 decades in the real estate business, Roger Chambers (Market Realty and RE Bidsales) and wife Lee Ann Chambers of Burton, Texas decided 2021 was the year to permanently protect their ranch. Like many Texans, they found a piece of Texas that is better left just the way it is. Roger and Lee Ann worked with Texas Land Conservancy to donate a conservation easement on their land to ensure it will never be subdivided or developed.

History of the Property

The Roger Chambers Ranch is part of the historic 9,000-acre A.B Pierce Ranch along Tres Palacios Bay that was dedicated to form the town of Collegeport in 1908. The prospective farming and ranching community, which included a college and a port (hence the name), was struck by multiple hardships to the agricultural industries that slowly contributed to its eventual decline.

Landowners Roger and Lee Ann pieced together their Collegeport ranch with three transactions over a 10-year period and is one of few working grasslands in an area of Matagorda County dominated by crops such as corn, cotton, rice, and sorghum. In addition, the property surrounds the Collegeport Historic Texas Cemetery which includes the grave of a union solider.

The Environment and More…

Coastal prairie and marsh along the Texas Gulf Coast are rich and diverse habitats. From nesting or wintering songbirds to birds of prey on the hunt, there is no shortage of birds that utilize the property. On the furry side of things, a walk along the marsh will quickly reveal tracks of recent visitors such as raccoons, bobcats, coyotes, and white-tailed deer.

Tres Palacios Bay along the property is an angler’s delight – popular for speckled trout, redfish, and flounder. Water quality protection and scenic views from public waters are two of the many public benefits from conservation easements like Roger Chambers Ranch.

The property has been managed as an open grassland for decades. While development is no longer a threat to the ranch, brush is a relentless foe. Native encroachers such as mesquite and huisache trees and exotics species like Chinese Tallow and Macartney Rose are always pining for a chance to take over open grassland which is why prescribed burns are used as an essential tool for managing the land and habitats.

We’re excited to have Roger and Lee Ann join the Texas Land Conservancy community and for this conservation success in a beautiful region of the Texas Gulf Coast. We encourage other landowners in the area to consider the options and benefits of conservation easements for themselves and for the people of Texas. Together we’re helping protect the landscape and habitats we love.