Los Fresnos to have butterfly, birds garden

By TONY VINDELL / LFN

Nature lovers take note.

The city of Los Fresnos has now embarked on a project to build a butterfly garden and bird-viewing area, and sometime later this year residents from here and the surrounding area will be able to watch the colorful insects and feathered creatures as they migrate through or make this part of the Rio Grande their home.

The garden will be built on a five-acre plot at the city’s Nature Park off Arroyo Boulevard on the north side of town.

Building the eco-tourism facility has received the green light by the city council and by the Los Fresnos Community Development Corp.

On Monday, the CDC board approved allocating $41,100 for Phase 1 of the butterfly garden. This phase calls for removing non-native trees and vegetation that will be replaced with local species as well as planting plants that attract butterflies and building blinds to view birds.

Desi Martinez, the CDC liaison, said the tree and bush removal will take place by the end of the month.

“I believe this butterfly and bird-viewing area is going to be an asset to the community,” he said. “Los Fresnos is on the paths of the monarch butterfly migration.”

In other business, the board approved nearly $30,000 for plants and to replace the lighting at the city’s Little League baseball field.

The board also elected Robert Juarez and Daniel Alvarez to serve as its president and vice president each for a one-year term, and took no action to provide matching funds for the Los Fresnos Buckin’ Good Times Market.