Ownership:  Project of North American Butterfly Association, a non-profit organization.

Mission Statement:  NABA International Butterfly Park is dedicated to education, conservation and scientific research on wild butterflies.

Vision for the Future:   NABA aims to create a world-class Butterfly Park that will become a major ecotourism destination for families and nature lovers from across the North American continent and beyond.  Intensive plantings of native plants will attract thousands of wild butterflies.  State of the art, interactive exhibits will teach visitors to appreciate the magnificence of butterflies, and the important roles they play as pollinators, as part of the web of life and as cultural icons for human beings.

Economic Impact:   We project that initial visitation will be 100,000 to 500,000 people annually.
This visitation rate will generate $93,000,000 to $465,000,000 annually in gross economic output and will result in an estimated increase in $4,000,000 to $20,000,000 in state states and $3,000,000 to $12,000,000 in local taxes.  The number of new jobs created by this activity is estimated to be 1,500 to 6,000.

Why the Lower Rio Grande Valley?   Because this is where the butterflies are!  More than 300 species of butterflies have been found in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, more by far than in any comparable region of the United States and more than in all of eastern North America.  Just as important as the incredible diversity is that this is the only region of the United States where an abundance of butterflies flies throughout the year.

Site:  The 100 acre tract in Mission, Texas serves as an ideal basis for a world-class botanical garden.  The property is bounded on the east by an historic grove of magnificent hackberry trees and boasts 1000 feet of Rio Grande river frontage.  To the west, the Park is adjacent to 1000 contiguous acres of wild habitat that includes Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park and a unit of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge. 

The 72 acres between the Levee and the Rio Grande are being re-vegetated with rare and disappearing Rio Grande Valley plant communities to create an arboretum where the public can explore and learn about the Valley’s unique flora and fauna.  Thirty acres north of the Levee will become a spectacular botanical garden with a welcome center, education facilities and formal gardens of native plants.   Currently, a five acre demonstration garden is open to the public.

Serving the Public:   In the Butterfly Park’s first year of operation, more than 10,000 visitors discovered the thrill of being up-close and personal with hundreds of wild, unrestrained butterflies.  Butterfly enthusiasts are drawn to the Park from all over North America and beyond.  School classes from across the Valley are finding the Butterfly Park to be an exciting place that offers a combination of environmental education and outdoor experiences. 

Conserving Rio Grande Valley Habitats:   NABA’s re-vegetation project is an important link in the Lower Rio Grande Wildlife Corridor.  The Butterfly Park’s location, adjacent to 1200 wild acres of Federal and State land, will allow wildlife to spread from existing habitat into restored habitats created at the Butterfly Park.

Funding: This project has been supported by major grants and donations from Dr. Judith Wible (Sugarland, Texas), the Meadows Foundation, the Houston Endowment, the Brown Foundation, Mission Economic Development Corporation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Texas Parks and Wildlife, City of Mission, U.S. Housing and Urban Development, Robert J. & Helen C. Kleberg Foundation, National Park Service, Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust and Mary Yturria (Brownsville, Texas).  Both Bentsen Palm, LLP and Rhodes Enterprises have made major donations of land.