Peckinpaugh Preserve Grand Opening

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, family and friends came to honor Patricia Peckinpaugh Hubbard and the Houston Audubon Society for their donations which created the Peckinpaugh Preserve.

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.

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.