TYLER, Texas — Several area volunteers came out this weekend to the Neches River National Wildlife Refuge near Jacksonville to install homes for a fellow East Texas resident — the wood duck.
Saturday morning, people spent time installing 15 wooden boxes along the Neches River for the colorful ducks to use as nesting grounds and protection from predators.
The event was hosted by the Friends of the Neches River, an organization dedicated to supporting the refuge. Michael Banks, co-chairman of the Friends of the Neches River, said the wood ducks almost became extinct because of people using their feathers for decorations.
“By them being protected by the predator guard, we’re hoping that the wood ducks’ survival rate will increase. We’ll have more wood ducks in the area since they’re a local resident and we get to enjoy them and see them all the time,” Banks said. “It doesn’t necessarily help the environment, except for the appreciation that humans have for wildlife. It’s one of our local ducks and we have a fantastic habitat here for wildlife, mainly because of the hardwood bottom lands.”
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