After 9 months of searching, the Executive Committee is pleased to announce that we have a new Executive Director, Diane Thompson. Thompson will start work July 1, 2022. She has strong family ties to this area having grown up in Southeast Texas, "mostly in the woods and on the water" she says, and spent her youth in and around the Big Thicket Preserve. She is a recently retired educator having…
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The Big Thicket Association
... a Friend of the the Big Thicket National Preserve
57th Anniversary of the Big Thicket Association
The Big Thicket Association (BTA) is a 501(c)3 organization committed to expanding, enhancing and protecting the Big Thicket National Preserve, in order to assure the preservation, conservation and protection of the natural, scenic and recreational values of a significant portion of the Big Thicket region of southeast Texas.
The Big Thicket Association operates the "Ivory Bill", a covered excursion boat on the Neches River for school field trips, social events and Nature classes. The boat operates on the open river, and is capable of navigating the shallows of cypress-lined backwater channels.
Neches River AdventuresThe Thicket of Diversity project is dedicated to biological field research in the Big Thicket National Preserve, coordinating activities of field biologists doing species inventory and research projects.
Thicket of DiversityThe 2021 Neches River Rally was held on September 11, 2021.
Neches River RallyEstablished in 1999, the Big Thicket Natural Heritage Trust has worked to "Save the Big Thicket" piece by piece. To date, the small non-profit has raised over $100,000 and acquired over 241 acres. The lands become donations to the Big Thicket National Preserve of the National Park Service.
Big Thicket Natural Heritage TrustLatest stories
Meagan Ellsworth wrote an article for the Beaumont Enterprise about the 2021 Big Thicket Day celebration on October 10th. Kate Hambright took some great photos of the event.
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The Big Thicket Association is pleased to share the debut of the Neches River Series Playlist on our YouTube channel, a collection of education/ information and scenic videos for students, teachers, and the public. Generous funding by BASF Total Energies Petrochemical, LCC. and the Mamie McFaddin Ward Heritage Foundation made this project possible. Big Thicket staff and volunteers worked with…
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The FRSLC is open but will be operating under new limited access due to continuing COVID restrictions. See our website for more details. https://www.thicketofdiversity.org/field-research-station
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Maxine Johnston, longtime leader of the Big Thicket Association and conservation efforts in East Texas, has recieved the Terry Hershey Women in Conservation Award for 2018, to recognize her critical roles in establishing the Big Thicket National Preserve and for maintaning community enthusiasm over the decades since the 1960s. In the linked video Maxine is seen participating in a field program to…
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