WILD PARTY

[TexasStooge]

By Chris Vaughn , StarTelegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH - Almost $30,000 was given to groups and individuals in Texas on Saturday to continue their work with endangered species that inhabit some of the 20 national wildlife refuges in the state.

The private grants to the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center outside Glen Rose, Bat Conservation International in Austin, and South Texas ranchers Douglas and Janet Hardie were awarded during a daylong celebration of the refuge system at the Fort Worth Zoo.

The celebration, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the refuge system, drew Interior Secretary Gale Norton, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and a number of high-ranking Interior Department and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials.