Wildlife Preserve Cleanup

You may not realize it, but there's a Wildlife Preserve right here in Midland. It's just north of I-20, and it protects more than 86 acres of playa habitat that are critical to the survival of local bird populations, native wildlife, and thousands of migratory birds along the West Central Flyway.

This weekend, volunteers joined together to clean up the I-20 wildlife preserve. This was the first time they've held a group cleanup event, and they say it was much needed. Storm activity pushes water from the southwest part of Midland to the wildlife preserve, and trash tends to build as a result. The cleanup from Saturday was just the beginning of many changes that are in store.

"We have hiking trails. Right now we've just started off a $2.75 million capital campaign to put in 3 and a half miles of hiking trails, board walks, bird lines, and a hawk tower," Elaine Magruder, President of the Wildlife Preserve, said.

She said they plan to do more cleanup events like this one in the future, and they're always looking for more volunteers. If you're interested in getting involved, give the I-20 Wildlife Preserve a call at (432) 853-9453.