AUSTIN, Texas— Today, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, M.D., highlighted the Texas General Land Office's (GLO) allocation of $2.958 million in Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) funding to help acquire 141 acres of coastal land for the Coastal Heritage Preserve on Galveston Island. The acquisition of these coastal lands was marked by a Land Consecration Celebration held on April 13, 2025, hosted by Artist Boat, a non-profit organization working to expand the Coastal Heritage Preserve.
The GLO allocated these funds as a member of the Deepwater Horizon Trustee Council to match funding provided by the Texas Trustee Implementation Group, which includes the GLO, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
”I am thrilled that the General Land Office was able to help provide the necessary resources to expand the Coastal Heritage Preserve by 141 acres of valuable coastal barrier habitat," said Commissioner Buckingham. "These coastal lands are next door to the Galveston Bay system, an estuary of national significance, which provides habitats for marine life and helps shield coastal communities from flooding during hurricanes. Adding this unfragmented, undeveloped land to the Preserve will help protect the wildlife and Texans who call this crucial part of our coast home."
Photo Courtesy of Artist Boat, from left to right: Chaplain Terry Conrad, MA CVCA; Maggie Albrecht, District Director, Galveston County, Rep. Terri Leo-Wilson’s Office; Reverend Lernette Patterson; Lindsey Lippert, Natural Resources Uses Coordinator, Galveston Bay Estuary Program; Angela Sunley, Deputy Director of Coastal Resources, Texas General Land Office; Karla Klay, Executive Director, Artist Boat; Catarina Gonzales, Commissioner, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; Alex ‘Strongwind’ Perez, Karankawa Kadla; Woody Woodrow, Fish & Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services; Lindsey Savage, Restoration & Artificial Reef Team Lead, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; Jeri Kinnear, Artist Boat Board Member
During the Land Consecration Celebration, the GLO marked the milestone event along with TCEQ, TPWD, Texas State Representative Terry Wilson Leo of District 23, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS), Galveston Bay Estuary Program (GBEP), and the Galveston Bay Foundation (GBF).
The Coastal Heritage Preserve on Galveston Island is a Tier One Project of the Texas Coastal Resiliency Master Plan. In 2013, the GLO's Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) funded the purchase of 156 acres for the Preserve. This initiative includes public access and education features, such as trails, boardwalks, viewing platforms for bird and nature watching, public access to the bay, parking, interpretive signage, and identification of a suitable site for a future environmental education center.
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