Help Protect Mills Pond for Birds and Wildlife

Wells Branch Wild Conservancy is becoming a Nonprofit and here's why: We need a permanent voice for protecting Mills Pond and Wells Branch parklands.

I’m a birder and Mills Pond has been one of my favorite birding spots for years, especially during migration. Two years ago I moved to Wells Branch, happy to be birding whenever I felt the urge to pick up my binoculars, which is pretty often. I never thought about how Mills Pond became such a luscious green space, I just thought it had always been that way.

I was completely wrong.

I saw a photo of Mills Pond taken the early 1990s. I was shocked to see how bare and mowed it was, nothing like today. Suddenly I saw it with new eyes---this vital stop over for migrating birds, and year-round habitat for all kinds of wildlife is here because the people who live here re-wilded it.

In a world where we are daily bombarded with the devastation humans have on nature, I am heartened and inspired to see that we can help nature, too.

Thanks to the far-sighted efforts of residents over the past 30 years, trees were planted, Grow-Zones established, and a 15-year Urban Forest Natural Resources Management Plan developed and approved by the elected officials on the MUD board. These efforts have resulted in Wells Branch parklands and that irreplaceable jewel, Mills Pond, now being an essential stop-over for migrating birds and a year-round habitat for avian, terrestrial and aquatic species.

INaturalist has over 1,300 species recorded and eBird registering 229 species of birds. It is not known how many people visit the park during peak migration, but the 5,401 eBird checklists indicate thousands.

But we can’t take the Mills Pond oasis for granted. Threats and pressures from being located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of one of the fastest growing cities in the nation continue to mount. Climate change, increasing population, drought and water shortage are increasingly affecting even the tiniest pollinator. Though our 84 acre parklands area is relatively small, it is a vital link in a green corridor that must be protected.

One year ago a group of concerned citizens began meeting to find a permanent solution to protecting Mills Pond and the surrounding 84 acres of parkland in Wells Branch. We are now becoming a Nonprofit called WELLS BRANCH WILD CONSERVANCY. Our mission is to lead, inspire, and engage our community in stewardship of a healthy and sustainable ecosystem. For me, this means a beautiful oasis where migrating birds can stop, rest and refresh on their long journey.

Our vision is to cultivate and protect diverse, vibrant natural spaces and living creatures in Wells Branch, now and for future generations.

We need funds to pay the costs of becoming a legal and established Nonprofit that will be a permanent voice for protecting nature. With the expert help and fees for filing, we will need $2,000.

If we are lucky enough to raise more than that, we will tackle our next goal of getting a webpage in place.

Please help. We are grateful for every donation, large and small.