South Padre Island Woods

SPI Woods - Orca Circle

Latest Update (3 July 2025) from Justin LeClaire

Good news! An alternative plan for the SPI convention center expansion was presented at the SPI city council workshop yesterday afternoon, shown in the image here. The alternate plan now leaves the habitat on the south and southwest sides of the convention center mostly untouched. The layout shows the theater now located more to the interior of the convention center. This was accomplished by moving some meeting rooms to a new location and administrative offices to a second floor (which they say may add a bit to the overall cost of the project). The fate of the native habitat within the driving loop is unclear and depends on how much they need to "trim" to make way for an altered driving loop for larger emergency vehicles in particular. The council said more "workshops" will be held regarding the project moving forward, and one member said he would be happy to facilitate a panel with various community experts after many people requested it. Time will tell, but mostly good news for now.

Richard Moore’s comments to SPI City Council:

Transcript of comments by outdoor TV reporter and film maker Richard Moore at the SPI 5-1-2024 City Council meeting:
 
Thank you.  My name is Richard Moore and I do promise to be brief. I thank y’all very much for letting me speak with you. You know the renovation of the convention center and the protection of the small parcel of old growth habitat are not mutually exclusive. I’ve spoken with my friend Raymond Gignac; he and I used to surf together before our hair turned gray, and Raymond assured me that he’s able to do it without destroying the old growth habitat.  He’s an excellent architect and will design a convention center per  your or the city council's wishes. 

Outdoor recreation is the number one attraction  to South Padre Island, and the annual spring and fall [song bird] migration attracts nature tourists from all over the world. Year  round this small vestige of old growth forest provides food and shelter for native birds, some which are rare and sought after year round. 

The economic value of outdoor recreation, birding in particular, is well documented. The old growth trees attract the birds, the birds attract the people, and the people bring the bucks to  stimulate the economy of South Padre Island. It is important to  understand that you cannot mitigate for old growth. I remember when  Will and Gill Carter, who happen to be in the audience this evening, began planting native trees decades ago at the convention center. It  has taken decades for that habitat to flourish. 

While landscaping  with new habitat is to be applauded, it can’t replace the old growth habitat. The bottom line is that renovation and preservation are not mutually exclusive; where birds thrive, people will prosper.

In closing, as you may be aware there’s a petition circulating and it is ever growing. It now has more than 1500 signatures from more than 40 states and 32 countries [Ed Note:  as of May 27 2024 that number is up to 2,533]. A common shared sentiment is, and I quote, “This is a critical Migratory Bird path for many birds.” Hopefully all  plans will be made in time given for citizen input. Thank you.

Photo courtesy of  Texas Country Reporter

The Issue (from a Facebook post by Justin LeClaire) -

Photos here include satellite imagery of the current format of the convention center and the plans proposed by the architectural firm that the City has hired for the redesign.   The plans clearly show (and the firm has admitted) to the central island area being wiped out for a new parking lot (to offset the loss of the parking lot further north due to building expansion), as well as clearing of a non-insignificant portion of the brush around the west and south sides of the building. This would clearcut the 1 acre in the central circle which is already more than half of the total brush habitat at the CC - and more may be taken on other parts of the property. It was stated at the city council meeting last week [week of April 15th 2024] that the firm and City wish to improve the habitat at this location, but this is a clear separation from that notion.  Please consider signing the petition to let the City of SPI know that NO upland trees/brush should be lost in this redesign of the convention center.

Plans Presented at the South Padre Island City Council Meeting, 17 April 2024

Current Satellite Image showing wooded areas

Proposed Remodeling

Potential Expansion (above and below)

Photos from Gignac Architects

Update On the Issue (from a Facebook post by Justin LeClaire, dated 28 MAY 2025)

South Padre Island city commissioners have seemingly approved architectural plans for expansion of the South Padre Island Convention Center that will include WIPING OUT THE MAJORITY OF THE MATURE WOODED HABTIAT ON THE PROPERTY. Despite managers initially promising that the habitat would not be altered as well as significant pushback over the last year from the birding community and other locals who deeply value native habitat in the Rio Grande Valley, the expansion is set to completely remove nearly all of the mature wooded habitat at the convention center.

Please see the attached image which shows the latest plans for the expansion overlaid on current satellite imagery of the vegetation. This destruction will include the entire center patch of dense mature vegetation that surrounds the large stream-like water feature (near the bathrooms) as well as what appears to be ~75% of the additional surrounding mature vegetation all around the paths that encircle the central patch. It’s also unclear what will happen to the vegetation in the middle of the driving loop, but it seems as though it may also be removed. All of this so that a new theater can be added to the south side of the convention center as well as for new paths to be cut and a “birding tower” placed on top of current habitat. The wording in the design plans are either extremely misleading or extremely misinformed (probably both) as they state that *13,500* square feet of existing landscape will be removed, *42,400* sq ft will be preserved, and *32,376* will be added. Great deal for birds and birders right? Except the landscape removed is nearly all mature woodlands, the preserved landscape is almost entirely composed of manicured lawn and thin tree lines that add very little relative habitat and hiding/foraging opportunities for migrants, and the added landscape is composed of >50% “ornamental trees” and only expands on the thin tree line habitat without adding any real “patch” of mature vegetation for migrants to disappear into. The focus on poor quality, 2-dimensional tree line habitat is clearly a misunderstanding in these design plans of what kind vegetative structure is needed to create optimal habitat for a wide range of passerine migrants at a stopover site.



Sample e-mail sent to the Cameron County Commissioners:

I’ve been a resident of Alamo, Texas, since 2009, and have visited South Padre Island both before moving here and after – probably hundreds of times, especially during spring migration. The Convention Centre is THE place to go to witness this annual phenomenon, and I will be sorely disappointed in the City of South Padre Island, Cameron County, and the Rio Grande Valley as a whole if the planned destruction of the native woodlands that the migrant birds depend upon so heavily occurs.

I can’t begin to calculate the amount of money I’ve invested by driving over there and spending time on the Island! Not only is this property invaluable for migrants crossing the gulf who need to stop and fuel up, but that it’s also considered by many to be the top birding location in all of Texas. This property has had more bird species seen within its borders (and beyond when you include the flats to the north) than the entire state, with 383 species – representing nearly half of all regularly occurring species in the United States! This property is the SECOND MOST POPULAR birding location in Texas on eBird with nearly 25,000 bird checklists (combining the woods and adjacent mudflats) submitted by the small minority of birders who even use the website at all, easily beating out the adjacent SPI Birding Center by thousands of visits. More than 4,000 people already voiced their opposition to this by signing a petition last year to save this habitat.

I will be incredibly grieved if the Cameron County Commission allows this to happen, and I am not alone with that perception. Not only should you not be removing native vegetation, you should be leaning in to the diamond that you have here by doubling or tripling the native habitat on the property and adding informational signage to enhance the quality of the property for birds as well as the draw and education value to birders. This decision will negatively affect your pockets and your title as one of the best places in the country to go birding.

Thank you for your consideration.