North Deer Island is an island and

wildlife sanctuary A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

located in

Hitchcock, Texas Hitchcock is a city in Galveston County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,961 at the 2010 census. History Hitchcock was created as a station of the railroad between Galveston and Houston in 1873 and around the turn of the 20th century ...

, in western

Galveston Bay Galveston Bay ( ) is a bay in the western Gulf of Mexico along the upper coast of Texas. It is the seventh-largest estuary in the United States, and the largest of seven major estuaries along the Texas Gulf Coast. It is connected to the Gulf of ...

, about halfway between

Galveston Island Galveston Island ( ) is a barrier island on the Texas Gulf Coast in the United States, about southeast of Houston. The entire island, with the exception of Jamaica Beach, is within the city limits of the City of Galveston in Galveston County. T ...

and Tiki Island in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. The natural island is one of the few natural islands remaining in West Galveston Bay. It is an important waterbird nesting site on the Upper Texas Coast and studies have shown that up to 40,000 pairs of birds nest on the island each year.

Restoration projects

In 2009, a consortium of public and private partners, including the Houston Audubon Society and the Harris & Eliza Kempner Fund, were awarded the Coastal America Partnership Award for recognition of their financial support in the creation of a

breakwater Breakwater may refer to: * Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour Places * Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia * Breakwater Island Breakwater Island () is a small island in the Palme ...

to help slow erosion to the island. The partnership also helped fund restoration of wetlands that encompass the island. The award is only environmental honor of its kind given by the president of the United States.

References

External links

Texas Parks and Wildlife
Galveston, Texas Islands of Galveston County, Texas Islands of Texas Nature reserves in Texas Protected areas of Galveston County, Texas Uninhabited islands of the United States Wildlife sanctuaries of the United States {{GalvestonCountyTX-geo-stub