Form 990 for tax year 2025

Totals

Total revenue

$149,352

Total expenses

$256,474

Contributions and grants received

$92,582

Grants paid

$0

Program service revenue

$42,074

Investment income

$14,297

Other revenue

$399

Total assets, end of year

$1,014,281

Total liabilities, end of year

$208,756

Net assets or fund balances, end of year

$805,525

Program services expenses (Part IX)

$244,688

Management and general expenses

$11,786

Fundraising expenses

$0

Program service expenses (Part III)

$244,688

Program services were 95.4% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

Line items

Every line the filer filed in Parts VIII, IX and X, as filed and in filed order. Blank columns are left out, and the lines are not forced to add up to the totals above.

Mission and programs · 2025

• In 2025, the Friends of Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge (FLANWR) participated in outreach and education, land conservation, and habitat restoration. OUTREACH AND EDUCATIONIn 2025, FLANWR hosted 70 events for approximately 14,000 individuals. Programs and events in 2025 included: Ocelot Conservation Day, the Wild Friends Storytime, the Friends Science Series, Bike the Bahia, the Naturally Native Garden Team, the CORE (Consumable Outdoor Recreation) Program, National Public Lands Day, the Rio Grande Birding Festival, the Christmas Bird Count, and participation at community events. Ocelot Conservation DayOcelot Conservation Day is an annual event held in March that is co-hosted by FLANWR and the USFWS that promotes ocelot conservation. This awareness-raising event highlights the ocelot, a small endangered wild cat native to South Texas. Activities included craft stations and information tables where guests may speak with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Friends of Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, and other local partners to learn about ocelot biology, research, and conservation.On March 9, 2025, the 21st annual Ocelot Conservation Day was held at the Gladys Porter Zoo. This event, coupled with the Ocelot Run, reached an estimated 3,300 people. This event included booths from partnering organizations, ocelot themed activities, and presentations by ocelot biologists. Partners include the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, American Forests, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Cara Cara Trails, South Texas Astronomy Society, the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center, the South Texas Ecotourism Center, Defenders of Wildlife, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Game Wardens Operation Game Thief Trailer, and the East Foundation. Activities included: pin the tail on the ocelot, ocelot bean bag toss, how far can an ocelot jump, an ocelot dress up station and selfie station, ocelot puzzles, ocelot masks, ocelot face painting, and ocelot button and magnet making. Presentations provided information about ocelots in Texas, ocelot monitoring at Laguna Atascosa NWR and south Texas, thornscrub restoration for ocelots, and ocelots at the Gladys Porter Zoo.Wild Friends StorytimeIn 2025, FLANWR continued the Wild Friends Storytime program. This program features a nature-themed book about wildlife or animals found at Laguna Atascosa NWR followed by a craft and/or nature hike. Events were held monthly at the Laguna Atascosa Visitor Center and the Laguna Vista Public Library. Through grant funding, we were also able to have a book giveaway at each event so participants could have a copy of the book read at the event. In 2025, we hosted 21 events for 107 youth.CORE (Consumable Outdoor Recreation) ProgramThe CORE (Consumable Outdoor Recreation) Program is an outreach program for youth that focuses on the National Wildlife Refuge Systems Big Six areas of outreach, which include: hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, photography, environmental education, and interpretation. We hosted events throughout the year that focused on these topics, including a hunter education class, a class on how to gut, skin, and quarter an animal, Family Fish Camps that included how to filet and cook fish, and guided hikes.Guided Bike RidesIn 2025, FLANWR hosted 18 guided wildlife bike rides for 119 participants. Guided bike rides are performed at the Steve Thompson Wildlife Drive and the Bahia Grande Unit. The Bahia Grande Unit contains coastal prairie, thornscrub, rare lomas, and the Bahia Grande, one of the largest wetland restoration sites in the United States. This Unit is currently closed to the general public but is accessible by guided tours. This wildlife bike ride provides a great public service by allowing participants to access this Unit of the refuge.Naturally Native Garden TeamIn 2025, FLANWR continued the Naturally Native Garden Team with 5 events that included 34 volunteers. This program is helping revitalize the pollinator garden in front of the Visitors Center and help establish native plants at a new wildlife observation area at the Refuge. The purpose of these events is to teach people about native plants, encourage the use of native gardening in the home, and to have a pollinator demonstration garden in front of the Visitor Center and surrounding trails.National Public Lands Day CleanupFLANWR, in partnership with the USFWS, assisted with National Public Lands Day Cleanup on September 27, 2025. At this event, the public came out to help restore a trail near the Visitors Center. This event hosted 45 people.Rio Grande Birding FestivalFLANWR participated as a vendor at the 32nd Annual Rio Grande Birding Festival at the Harlingen Convention Center in November 2025. FLANWR was able to assist in making the Birders Bazaar Trade Show a success along with other local Nature Store site vendors, optics, artists, and tour companies from all over the world. This event reached an estimated 3,000+ people. Christmas Bird CountFLANWR led the 126th Audubon Christmas Bird Count for Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in December 2025 from sunrise to sunset at LANWR. LAND CONSERVATIONIn 2025, FLANWR continued their land conservation efforts by partnering with the Far Wide Conservation Trust for a North American Wetlands Conservation Grant for wetland restoration at the 234-acre parcel acquired in 2023. We also continued to research a 31-acre parcel adjacent to this 234-acre parcel for acquisition. OPSREY OVERLOOK AND GATOR POND OVERLOOKSIn 2025, the Friends had a new boardwalk built and another one revitalized at the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. A boardwalk over Lake Laguna Atascosa was created at the popular Osprey Overlook, while the Gator Pond boardwalk was rebuilt.HABITAT RESTORATIONIn 2025, the Friends assisted the Laguna Atascosa with prairie habitat restoration and wetland restoration. We purchased stainless steel wheels for water control structures at Laguna Atascosa NWR (Crossing 1 and 2). Refuge maintenance staff replaced the old, dilapidated wheels on the Crossings and were able to install the new wheels onto the screwgate gearbox in way that allows the Refuge to more easily and safely manage the water levels in the Atascosa Wetland Management Complex (~5,000 acres). We also purchased native prairie seeds for the restoration of 140 acres of coastal prairie. The saline coastal prairie portion of the planting is adjacent to the remnant Dulaney coastal prairie and is managed to provide habitat for the endangered aplomado falcon and other grassland-dependent birds. In addition to assisting the US Fish and Wildlife Service with coastal prairie habitat restoration, the Friends continued maintenance of the wildlife guzzlers at Laguna Atascosa. These guzzlers, which capture rainwater at strategic locations throughout the refuge, provide an important source of freshwater for numerous species on the refuge and are especially important during times of drought.

  Expenses $244,688

As filed on the 2025 return.

Listed in Part VII

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those.

Grants on this return

No itemized grants to organizations on this return.

Provenance

Return type

form_990

Tax year

2025

Filed

10 July 2026

IRS schema version

2025v4.1

Source object

202631919349300113

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