Sabal Palm Audubon Center to remain closed due to budget constraints

The Sabal Palm Audubon Center isn’t seeing the green it needs to keep the sanctuary open.

The center will remain closed until the end of the year due to budget constraints, officials said.

The 557-acre property was to re-open to the public last week, but funding problems and the ongoing construction of the border fence have given officials no choice but to keep the sanctuary closed for the time being, said Audubon Texas Executive Director Bob Benson.

"Unsustained funding is the number 1 issue," Benson said earlier this week. "It all comes down to funding."

Earlier this year, officials had announced new hours for the center closing it for five months and re-opening it only on the weekends. But the Oct. 15 re-opening date never came to fruition.

The Sabal Palm Audubon Center, owned by the Texas National Audubon Society, is home to one of the only two remaining large stands of native sabal palms in the nation. It has also been one of the most popular birding destinations in South Texas.

Benson said he is already fielding calls from bird enthusiasts inquiring when the sanctuary will open and has had to tell them it will be at least a couple of months or maybe more.

Bird watching is big business in South Texas, with bird enthusiasts spending about $300 to $400 a day while in the area.

Although official sare in talks with possible funding sources, Benson said he didn’t want to disclose anything at the time.

"We are looking at potential opportunities so there is some sunshine on the horizon," Benson said.

The financial crisis earlier this year affected the foundation’s revenue, officials said. General donations declined about 40 percent and visitation to the center decreased about 25 percent.

Then the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced plans to construct a border fence just north of the center’s property, potentially sealing it off from the public.

The border fence construction continues around the Sabal Palm Audubon Center and officials are still trying to determine how this will affect visitor access to the center.

Earlier this year, The Sabal Palm Audubon Center welcomed hundreds of native sabal palm trees that were transferred from the path of the border fence to the center and the Nature Conservancy. They are the only palm species native to South Texas.