The mighty Dolan Falls is the crown jewel of the Conservancy's Devils River conservation work, which to date has helped protect 165,000 acres within the watershed. Photo © James King

 

Far from the waves of development ringing Texas' most populous cities, passing through dramatic limestone canyons with mature riverbottom woodlands and purple sage covered slopes, a radiant river of bright blue spills forth.

Natural springs flowing at 22,000 gallons per minute give birth to the Devils River - considered by many to be the most pristine flowing waters in the state - in Val Verde County. Coursing through a biological crossroads where Hill Country junipers, Chihuahuan Desert ocotillo and spiny South Texas brush blend together, the river runs for only about 45 miles southward before flowing into the Amistad Reservoir along the United States/Mexico border.

"The Devils River is a remarkable slice of the original Texas," said Laura Huffman, state director for the Nature Conservancy of Texas. "Protecting this remarkable river is right in line with the Conservancy's mission to protect our most treasured and biologically rich places for our children and grandchildren."

Along its southerly course, the Devils River and its primary spring-fed tributary, Dolan Creek, provide for a variety of rare desert dwellers, such as the Devils River minnow, a fish unique to this reach of the Rio Grande Basin, while providing extensive and excellent nesting habitat in adjacent shrublands for the endangered black-capped vireo.

Recognizing the river's importance to a variety of species, The Nature Conservancy has worked to protect several historic ranches surrounding the Devils River's headwaters and downstream along the river. In all, the Conservancy has protected lands totaling approximately 165,000 acres within the river basin, including the largest volume continuously flowing waterfall in Texas: Dolan Falls. The Conservancy's Dolan Falls Preserve covers nearly 5,000 acres, while the remainder is protected by conservation easements - voluntary land-use agreements that permanently conserve land.

Fern Cave, a vital maternity cave for as many as 10 million Mexican free-tailed bats, is just one more of the treasures nestled in the Devils River area.

For more information on the Devils River or other Conservancy projects, visit nature.org/texas.