CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — If you're out enjoying the Oso Bay Wetlands Preserve in the next few weeks, you might notice some clearings on the trails.
According to management at the Preserve, they are cutting down some trees to make it a more spacious habitat for animals. Walking along the Preserve's trail, you will notice a lot of dense trees and grass.
The animals of the Preserve do not have enough room to walk through but after a habitat improvement project managers said there'll be a lot more room for species -- 172 acres.
Management said over the years the habitat has grown and not in the best way.
Historically the land would have been burned or grazed by farmers, and even though mesquite is native to the area, it grows very fast and dense.
"If you're a bobcat walking around. Even if you're a bird trying to catch a dragonfly between the trees you want that space to move, like us," preserve manager Sarah Jose said.
As a solution and with the help of federal grants, the Preserve is teaming up with a contractor to reduce the mesquite trees from 30 acres.
"In any given area only 30 percent of the trees are gonna go so we will be leaving trees. and trying to time it around our nesting seasons, so we are very mindful of the wildlife as we are doing this as well," Jose said.
Currently, the Oso Wetlands Preserve has a ground team of three people working by hand, but soon the contractors will come in with a large machine that will run over the trees and mulch them in place.
Coastal Bend runner will not need to worry about the trails since they will be open as crews work for three to four weeks.
According to management, their next step is to reseed the plants and grass and want to continue providing a safe and healthy habitat for all the species at the Oso Wetlands Preserve.