The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department recently acquired 630 new acres of land bordering Enchanted Rock State Park for preservation. 

According to a Sept. 24 release, the department bought the property using the federal government’s Land and Water Conservation Fund and the state’s Sporting Goods Sales Tax after local park staff discovered a for-sale sign on the land. The acreage, which once had the potential to hold a large subdivision of homes, is now planned for incorporation into Enchanted Rock State Park. The department will use public input over the next few months to develop a plan for recreational opportunities, according to the release. 

“When you put things under conservation, things are protected from development,” said  Elizabeth Catlos, associate professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences. “We need places to live, and that’s a beautiful place to live out there by Enchanted Rock.” 

The original 1,640-acre area of Enchanted Rock was preserved by The Nature Conservancy in 1978 and later transferred to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in 1984 once funds were available. Jeff Francell, associate director for land protection at The Nature Conservancy, said the organization regularly works with Texas Parks and Wildlife to help secure land for future preservation. 

“You can see Enchanted Rock from many vantage points on that (630-acre) property, and so it was going to be appealing for somebody to come in and do a large ranch subdivision,” Francell said. 

Lance Zhang, vice president of the Longhorn Outdoors Club and computer science junior, said the lack of civilization near the park makes hiking Enchanted Rock really special. 

“If they had turned out into housing projects, I’m sure it would have helped some people, but that would have just ruined the view for the whole park,” Zhang said.

The Longhorn Outdoors Club, an informally organized group of UT students who enjoy various outdoor activities, takes an annual three-day camping trip to Enchanted Rock where they stay at neighboring ranches instead of the park because it is difficult to obtain a permit, Zhang said. Zhang said he hopes the expansion will help with the congestion. 

Catlos said new students in Jackson School of Geosciences also take an annual trip to the park to learn about the geology of Enchanted Rock and its relationship to the geology of Texas. 

“This is a really unique part of Texas where we can see interesting rock types,” Catlos said. “It’s a lot of fun for the students to hike, just like the outdoors club.”