• Friends will continue to play an active role in helping Laguna Atascosa NWR to grow in land conservation, habitat restoration and research.
  
  
• Develop programs that reflect the refuge importance with connections to the community and that promote a greater sense of environmental responsibility. Educating the next generation who will carry the legacy forward.
  
  
• Become a champion for growth, both in membership and diversity, and in resource capacity. 
  
  
• Conduct outreach through special events, the web site, brochures and other promotional materials.
  
  
• Advocate on a local and national level for funding and other issues that affect wildlife conservation in South Texas.
  
  
• Continue to operate and improve the Visitor Center's nature store, which offers educational, interpretive and promotional materials benefiting the refuge.
  
  
• Grow our Board capacity, skills, and diversity to meet the challenges ahead. 
  

Ongoing Commitments of the Friends Using Self-Generated Funds

• Support for Ocelot monitoring at Laguna Atascosa NWR
• Support for Student Interns working with the Ocelot Program and Visitor Service Program
• Support for Student of the University of Texas at Brownsville engaged in environmental research at Laguna Atascosa NWR
• Support for public hunting program at Laguna Atascosa NWR

• Organized and hosted the annual Ocelot Conservation Festival in South Texas since 1997. In 2019 and 2020 , we also brought ocelot awareness to the Longhorn Cattle Company at our 'Afternoon with an Ocelot.' In the past we've hosted an ocelot Soiree, a fundraising event for Ocelot Conservation. The annual 5K run through the Gladys Porter Zoo is a very popular event.
  
  
• Funded the purchase of live traps, trail cameras, and radio & GPS tracking collars for ocelot research.
  
  
• Partnered with USFWS to restore 153 acres of coastal prairie along Holly Beach, removed 8,500 lbs. of trash from the area, and and installed nearly 5,000 feet of fencing to prevent illegal dumping and offroading!
  
  
• Have donated approximately $7,000 since 2004 to help monitor and protect Kemp's ridley sea turtles.
  
  
• Sponsor Save Texas Ocelots.org specialty license plate. Friends of Laguna Atascosa receives $22.00 from the sale or renewal of each plate from the TxDMV, 100% of which goes to ocelot conservation.
  
  
• Successfully write and manage grants, including funding for the Ocelot Translocation Project, Bahia Grande Wetland Restoration, boardwalk overlooks along Laguna Madre at Plover Point and Redhead Ridge, and Aplomado Falcon Habitat Restoration at Bahia Grande.