Grand opening delayed for Resaca de la Palma State Park

BROWNSVILLE — Construction problems have delayed the grand opening of Resaca de la Palma State Park to June.

“We need to flood the resaca, and for that we had to bid for culverts and no one bid,” park manager Pablo de Yturbe said.

“We want to manage the water by sections so we have to install structures and culverts to do that, and we will start on that next month.”

The resaca will be the centerpiece for the 1,200 state park on the outskirts of Brownsville off Hwy. 281.

Once the water structures are in place, the resaca will be flooded. Water rights have already been allocated by Rancho Viejo Irrigation District No. 2.

“We will flood the resaca and then see how it works,” Yturbe said. “We don’t anticipate any problems.”

The resaca is currently dry.

But, said Yturbe, everything is going well.

“We’re fully staffed (14 employees) and finishing up some things. We’ve been installing and about to receive interpretation signs next month.”

Yturbe said 95 percent of the trails are complete. The park will include 3.5 miles of paved trails and 6.5 miles of dirt trails. Two of the trails will be handicapped accessible.

There will also be an observation deck at the resaca.

The park is similar to Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park in Mission.

No private vehicles will be allowed inside the park. An open seat bus with two sections will take visitors around the park. Visitors can also choose to walk the trails.

Resaca de la Palma will be one of three state parks of the World Birding Center. The other two are Bentsen-Rio Grande, the headquarters, and Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco.

Other pieces of the WBC include Edinburg Scenic Wetlands, Harlingen Arroyo Colorado, Old Hidalgo Pumphouse, Qunita Mazatlan in McAllen, Roma bluffs and the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center.

Resaca de la Palma is a varied habitat that includes forest, meadow and resaca. The old-growth forest portion includes giant ebony trees and sabal palms, the only native palms of Texas.

The park is expected to be a magnet for birds, especially when the resaca is flooded.

Among the birds documented at the park are the Altamira oriole, olive sparrow, long-billed thrasher, white-eyed vireo and black-bellied whistling ducks.

During migration, it has sizeable concentrations of American redstarts, summer tanagers and yellow-breasted chats, according to the park’s Web site.

Entrance fee will be $4 for adults with children under 12 admitted free. The park will be open seven days a week.

Resaca de la Palma will include a staffed visitors center, park offices, meeting room, interpretation hall and concession area.