Dear Audubon Advocate,

The City of San Antonio is finalizing its recommended list of projects for the 2022 Bond Committee consideration—we need Mitchell Lake Audubon Center included on the list TODAY!

We need equity across the city for new amenities and improvements to existing facilities. A Southside jewel is a city-wide win! In partnership with San Antonio Water System, the Mitchell Lake Improvements Project will expand accessibility to a world-renowned birding site and outdoor recreation area, fostering economic development focused on conservation, tourism, and education.

For Southside residents, this project is critical in order to provide equity in amenities to a traditionally under-resourced community. These improvements will increase the area’s economic value by enhancing nearby property values, increasing municipal revenue, and providing homebuyers and workers with local amenities they desire. Mitchell Lake Audubon Center provides residents direct contact with nature, physical activity, and social interaction.

More than 4,000 students, mostly from Title I schools, participate in annual educational programming at Mitchell Lake. Proposed improvements will expand the outdoor educational field experiences, university research projects, and internships. From elementary grade levels to doctoral programs, Mitchell Lake offers unique educational and research opportunities for understanding the importance of ecological management and the link between a sound environment and economic vitality.

A former Sewer sludge repository, Mitchell Lake boasts four distinct habitats on its 1,200 acres. With more than 340 documented bird species, 98.5% of long-distance migratory bird species in the US pass through this site. It creates greenway trail and waterway connection points from Mission Reach to the Medina River, and works within the water system providing for floodplain protections across San Antonio. Public funding for this project would support green spaces that attract more than 12,000 annual visitors from across the world.

Please join us in taking action while there is still time: Ask the City Council to add Mitchell Lake improvements to the 2022 City Bond Project list TODAY!