The Katy Prairie Grows in Land Deal, Welcome Center, and Family Events
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KATY MAGAZINE NEWS
March 25, 2026
By Natalie Cook Clark
The Coastal Prairie Conservancy continues to preserve the land that is the Katy Prairie Preserve with the newest addition of 221 acres. A new Welcome Center and a family event aim to educate Katy residents on our land’s importance to the local ecosystem.
The Coastal Prairie Conservancy will celebrate Earth Month in April with the opening of a new Welcome Center (31975 Hebert Road, Waller, TX 77484) and a family-friendly event that will educate and inspire Katy families. Recently the organization added 221 acres of the Three Oaks Farm to the Katy Prairie Preserve network. This connected 20,000 protected acres on the Katy Prairie.
“Come out and visit us,” says Elisa Donovan, Vice President and General Counsel of the Coastal Prairie Conservancy. “When you learn what’s around you, you will start to see your area in a new light.”
The Coastal Prairie Conservancy will open the new Katy Prairie Welcome Center at the Indiangrass Preserve in Waller on Friday, April 10, 2026, followed by the public Earth Month Kickoff Fest on Saturday, April 11, 2026.
The 155-acre tract where the Welcome Center sits was acquired by the Coastal Prairie Conservancy from Dow Chemical in 2002 and permanently conserved. Prior to that, it was used as a fertilizer, herbicide, and pesticide testing facility for agricultural crops. It had a research office which we then utilized as a field office for staff, and has now been fully renovated into the Katy Prairie Welcome Center.
“The newly renovated Welcome Center serves as a gateway to the prairie, helping visitors better understand the role this endangered landscape plays in supporting wildlife, conservation, and long-term regional resilience,” says Madison Walkes, press relations specialist. “The opening reflects the Conservancy’s broader mission to preserve 50,000 acres of coastal prairie and create new ways for the public to connect with the land firsthand.”
On Saturday, April 11th starting at 9:00 a.m. Katy families can celebrate spring on the prairie through exciting volunteer activities that both educate and inspire. Activities include seed ball making, nursery plant potting, trail beautification, and final milkweed plantings as the organization wraps up an over 20,000 Milkweeds Initiative.
From 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. guests can enjoy live music by the Fire Ants String Band. Fun activities at the picnic pavilion include:
Prairie seed ball station and native seed giveaways
Great Grow Out booth
Plant ID station
Bird silhouette activity
Biofacts station
Nature journaling
Chalk art
From 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. families can enjoy tours of the newly renovated Welcome Center and enjoy prairie views from the bird blind. There will also be free hot dogs and veggie dogs at the picnic pavilion.
The Katy community continues to grow and while growth is exciting, the Katy Prairie Preserve reminds residents what Katy was like before development.
“The Katy Prairie Preserve, managed by the Coastal Prairie Conservancy, is now more important than ever to our Community,” says Chris Harris, City of Katy, Councilmember At-Large and Mayor Pro Tem. “As growth continues, we need more open space for people and wildlife and to preserve part of Katy’s roots.”
The Katy Prairie Preserve is one of the largest nature preserve systems in the Houston area and one of the last places where people can still experience the region’s historic coastal prairie. It supports rice farming, ranching, and wildlife habitat, while also offering places for the public to connect with the land – from the Indiangrass Preserve and Welcome Center to Warren Lake and Blazing Star Prairie.
The milestone of adding the Three Oaks Farm strengthens nearly 20,000 acres of connected prairie, wetlands, and working lands just west of Houston – an increasingly rare landscape that plays a critical role in reducing flood risk, supporting wildlife, and maintaining the region’s agricultural heritage while also providing recreational opportunities to the public, including birdwatching, hiking, and nature photography.
“This is about more than acreage,” said Mary Anne Piacentini, President and CEO of the Coastal Prairie Conservancy. “By completing conservation at Three Oaks Farm, we are strengthening an entire system that helps protect communities, sustain working lands, and preserve a landscape that defines this region.”
Learn more about the Coastal Prairie Conservancy at their website.
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