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Conservation Headlines
6/6/2026
Shell Contributes $1 Million to Help Preserve Laguna Madre - Largest Grant Ever for This Nature Conservancy Project
Shell Oil Company
HOUSTON, June 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The Shell Oil Company Foundation today
announced a $1 million commitment to The Nature Conservancy to help save the
Laguna Madre ecosystem on the Gulf of Mexico. Provided over a four-year
period, this contribution will be used to purchase land and fund
conservation activities.
The Laguna Madre -- a shallow, salty lagoon -- stretches from Texas into
Mexico and is considered one of the world's greatest marine treasures. From
shorebirds and waterfowl to rare wildcats to endangered sea turtles, a rich
variety of wildlife depends on the Laguna Madre for survival. For instance,
90 percent of all redhead ducks winter in the lagoon. The Laguna is one of
only five known hypersaline estuary systems in the world, and of the
44 species of fish identified in the Gulf of Mexico as commercial or
recreational, 37 have been found in the Laguna Madre.
"This conservation project is incredibly important to the continued
vitality of the Gulf of Mexico," said Albert Myres, vice president of the
Shell Oil Company Foundation. "By working with The Nature Conservancy, we
believe we can help protect the ecological, economical and recreational
value of this unique ecosystem for future generations. Shell has a significant
investment in and along the Gulf of Mexico. This project complements our
ongoing commitment to conservation of the Gulf ecosystem."
A combination of shallow estuaries, tidal flats, barrier islands and
impenetrable thornscrub forests, the Laguna Madre region also provides
crucial habitat for two imperiled wildcats, the ocelot and the jaguarundi. The
Kemp's Ridley sea turtle, considered the rarest of the sea turtles, nests on Padre
Island, which shelters the lagoon and is the longest barrier island in the
world. Endangered birds that depend on the Laguna include the brown pelican
and the piping plover.
Presently, the Laguna Madre faces several threats that are severely
degrading the region's lands and waters and threatening its species.
Threats include:
-- Habitat loss
-- Increases in polluted runoff
-- Increases in algal blooms, which decrease food supply for fish and
bird species
-- Declining productivity of shrimp and other fisheries
"Our Laguna Madre project is designed to protect sensitive lands and
waters through preserve acquisition and management agreements with private
landowners, and through partnerships with responsible businesses like Shell,
community organizations and government entities," said Robert J. Potts,
state director of the Texas chapter of The Nature Conservancy. "The objective is
to achieve the highest possible leverage of private dollars. And thanks to
Shell's contribution, we're one step closer to achieving our goals."
Shell has supported The Nature Conservancy since 1975 with cash
contributions totaling almost $700,000.
In addition to this successful alliance, Shell also has partnered with
the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to create The Shell Marine
Habitat Program. By leveraging Shell's $5 million commitment through a
competitive challenge grant program, the NFWF is able to multiply the value
of the initial investment and fund important conservation projects to enhance
fish, wildlife and habitat in the Gulf of Mexico. The Nature Conservancy
also has been the beneficiary of grants from the Shell Marine Habitat Program.
The Nature Conservancy is a private, international, non-profit
organization established in 1951 to preserve plants, animals and natural
communities that represent the diversity of life on earth by protecting the
lands and waters they need to survive. To date, the Conservancy and its
more than 1 million members have been responsible for the protection of more than
12 million acres in the United States, and have helped through partnerships
to preserve more than 60 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Canada,
Asia and the Pacific. In Texas, the Conservancy owns or manages more than
60 nature preserves and conservation projects and, with partners, has
protected more than half a million acres. To learn more, visit
www.nature.org or www.texasnature.org.
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