Texas family's 2,500-acre ranch joins 17,500-acre wildlife refuge

For generations, the Ward family knew a stretch of the Texas coast as “Down Below,” a working ranch where cattle grazing, hunting and family traditions unfolded across prairie, wetlands and marshes. Now, 2,500 acres of that land have entered a very different chapter. The property has been permanently protected and added to the Justin Hurst Wildlife Management Area near Freeport, creating more than 17,500 acres of connected conserved habitat in Brazoria County. The deal brought together the Ward family, the Coastal Prairie Conservancy and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, turning land that had been privately stewarded for generations into part of a much larger conservation landscape.

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