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[[Category:Parks in Houston]] |
[[Category:Parks in Houston]] |
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[[Category:Nature reserves|Armand Bayou Nature Center]] |
[[Category:Nature reserves|Armand Bayou Nature Center]] |
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[[Category:Nature centers]] |
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Armand Bayou Nature Center is an urban preserve located in southeast Houston, Texas between the Johnson Space Center and the Bayport Industrial District. The 2500 acre nature center is the largest urban wilderness preserve in the United States. [1] The center was named in honor of Armand Yramategui, a Houston environmental visionary who died in 1970. Yramategui foresaw the increasing urban growth around Armand Bayou and pursued to have the land remain a wilderness. [1]
Founded in 1974, the center consists of a boardwalk through forest and marshes, live animal displays, bison and prairie platforms and butterfly gardens. The center also includes the "Martyn", "Karankawa", "Marsh", "Lady Bird" (named after Lady Bird Johnson) and "Prairie" nature trails that allow visitors to see forest, prairie, marsh and natural bayou habitats once common in the Houston and Galveston region.
The nature center is home to more than 370 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. Over 220 species of birds reside or rely on the center as a safe resting-place on their migratory journeys. Armand Bayou Nature Center lies along the Central Flyway, the largest migratory bird route in North America. [2]
