The grand opening of the Peckinpaugh Preserve was held on Saturday, April 21, 2007 at 10:00 a.m. Hanging across the trail along the high bank of Spring Creek, an invasive honeysuckle vine was cut, signaling the opening of the Peckinpaugh Preserve. Elected officials, environmentalists, volunteers, family and friends came to honor Patricia Peckinpaugh Hubbard and the Houston Audubon Society for their donations which created the Peckinpaugh Preserve.

From left: Legacy Land Trust, Chairman, Dr. Shawn Simmons; Harris County Precicnt 4, Commissioner, Jerry Eversole; Texas State Senator, Tommy Williams; Montgomery County Precinct 3, Special Counsel, Robert W. Collins; Patricia Peckinpaugh Hubbard; United States Congressman, Kevin Brady; Houston Audubon Society, President-Elect, Joy Hester; Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner, Ed Chance.

From left: Montgomery County Precinct 3, Commissioner, Ed Chance; Legacy Land Trust Executive Director, Jennifer Lorenz; Houston Audubon Society, President-Elect, Joy Hester; Montgomery County Precinct 3, Special Counsel, Robert W. Collins; Harris County Precicnt 4, Commissioner, Jerry Eversole; Patricia Peckinpaugh Hubbard, Texas State Senator, Tommy Williams and United States Congressman, Kevin Brady.

Established in 2005, the 25-acre Peckinpaugh Preserve merges 10 acres generously donated by Mrs. Patricia Peckinpaugh Hubbard and 15 acres contributed by the Houston Audubon Society.

The preserve is named in honor of Mrs. Hubbard's parents. Mrs. Hubbard's father, William Thomas Peckinpaugh, purchased the land in the 1920's. The preserve is located adjacent to the new Riley Fuzzel Road bridge. Spring Creek forms the southern boundary of this beautifully wooded preserve, with undeveloped forest land and the Spring Trails subdivision to the north. The preserve is protected by a conservation easement held by Legacy Land Trust.

The preserve was made possible with the assistance of Legacy Land Trust who helped negotiate a land swap between Houston Audubon Society and the Midway Companies, developer of the adjacent Spring Trails subdivision. Houston Audubon owned a nearby 11-acre parcel that was not on Spring Creek and inaccessible to the public, so they swapped for 15 acres owned by Midway Companies, and then donated the land to Montgomery County for the Spring Creek Greenway.

A canoe launch has opened at the end of Old Riley Fuzzel Road, adjacent to the Peckinpaugh Preserve, which offers direct access to Spring Creek. The preserve contains 2,385 linear feet or almost one-half of a mile of frontage along the banks of Spring Creek.

When Legacy Land Trust established the conservation easement on the 25-acre preserve, they stated it had the following conservation purposes:

1. Conservation of an important migratory stop-over and wintering area along Spring Creek for waterfowl, shorebirds and songbirds.
2. Protection of forested riparian area from development encroachment
3. Protection of floodway and the 100-year-floodplain of Spring Creek from clearing, so as to retain optimum floodwater retention capacity of property.
4. Inclusion in Spring Creek Greenway Project, a comprehensive conservation effort to protect both north and south banks of Spring Creek.

Get The Facts!
Check out the Peckinpaugh Preserve Plant and Animal List and Fact Sheet.

Spring Creek Tree Guide!
Check out the trees along Spring Creek.

View Photos!
Photos from Peckinpaugh Preserve biolgical survey, as well as aerial photography taken from 1944 through 2005 are presented in online galleries.

Location and Information

Peckinpaugh Preserve
1209 Old Riley Fuzzel Road
Spring, Texas 77386

For more information about the Preserve, contact:
Montgomery County Precicnt 3 Commissioner's Office
(281) 367-3977 or (936) 539-7817
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