History

A UT Partnership

In 2006, the privately owned Fennessey Ranch came under a conservation easement granted by the Brien O’Connor Dunn estate to The Board of Regents of The University of Texas System. The conservation easement was purchased by The University of Texas at Austin from a grant received from the National Estuarine Research Reserve System. The reserve system is a network of 30 areas, established by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), representing different biogeographic regions of the United States that are protected for long-term research, water-quality monitoring, education, and coastal stewardship. Each reserve is managed by a lead state agency or university, with input from local stakeholders. The University of Texas at Austin is the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve’s lead state partner.

The conservation easement restricts development from occurring and ensures that the valuable habitats of Fennessey Ranch will continue to support wildlife well into the future. The easement also provides increased access for the public, access for monitoring land management practices, and provides educational and research opportunities to highlight the importance of healthy coastal ecosystems.

History

Fennessey Ranch is part of the vast O’Connor family land empire in South Texas. In 1834, fifteen-year-old Thomas O’Connor came to South Texas from County Wexford, Ireland. In a fortune of fate, Thomas’s uncle, James Power, was an empresario — entrepreneur who operated as a land agent for the Republic of Mexico to bring settlers into the country’s unpopulated northern reaches. In exchange, the settlers would receive title to land. Thomas’s land grant was for 4,428 acres, and he received an additional 1,280 acres as a reward for military service on behalf of the Texas Republic (he fought at the Battle of San Jacinto and signed the Goliad Declaration of Independence).

Thomas was one of the first Texans to fence his land, along with Richard King and Mifflin Kenedy (founders of the King Ranch). At the time of his death in 1887, Thomas had accrued more than 500,000 acres and an estate worth about $4.5 million — reportedly the largest individual land and cattle owner in Texas. His descendants later acquired additional land, culminating in 750,000 acres.