Inside the New Texas State Natural Area Near Boerne: Why ABK Isn't a Park
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When the Albert & Bessie Kronkosky State Natural Area (ABK) opens its gates—targeted for late fall 2026—visitors will encounter a 3,814-acre landscape straddling Bandera and Kendall counties along Highway 46 between Boerne and Bandera. But they won't be entering a state park. In the latest episode of The Building Texas Show, host Justin McKenzie welcomes new site superintendent Stephanie Kwiatkowski, who took the helm in June, to explain why Texas Parks and Wildlife classified ABK as a state natural area rather than a state park.
Kwiatkowski, who previously served as assistant superintendent at Pedernales Falls State Park, walks listeners through the legal and operational distinction between the two designations under the Texas Administrative Code, drawing comparisons to Government Canyon, Lost Maples, Inks Lake, and McKinney Falls. She frames the park-versus-natural-area question as a spectrum between recreation and conservation—and at ABK, the balance tilts decisively toward protection.
That protective stance is rooted in the landscape itself. The site owns both sides of its canyons, safeguarding the viewshed in perpetuity. Standing in a UTV above the canyons during her first weeks on site, Kwiatkowski described the moment: The site owns both sides of those canyons. And so that view, that viewshed, it is safeguarded for, um, forever.
The episode digs into the ecological specifics that justify ABK's designation: bigtooth maples that rival those at Lost Maples State Natural Area, riparian corridors along Red Bluff Creek and Pipe Creek, and transition zones between ash juniper woodlands and creek bottoms. Kwiatkowski also credits the volunteer corps assembled by founding superintendent James Rice, a former biologist, calling the relationships integral to our success as a site. Rice previously appeared on the show while the land was still in survey and planning.
Visitors can look forward to 28 miles of multi-use trail open to hikers, mountain bikers, joggers, and strollers. Construction crews, subcontractors, and a six-person site team are now preparing cabins, screened shelters, tent sites, backcountry camping, and hike-and-bike infrastructure for public access.
The episode also covers operational lessons from the July 2026 flooding event, which washed out landscaping, trails, and campsites before any public visitation—a stark reminder of the challenges inherent in opening a new natural area.
Kwiatkowski traces her own path from a childhood of camping in a pop-up trailer, through an environmental science degree with a minor in environmental sociology, GIS and consulting work, a formative seasonal job with the City of New Braunfels parks, and the park operations trainee role at the Lost Pines Complex (Bastrop and Buescher State Parks), to her June promotion.
The Building Texas Show, hosted by Justin McKenzie, spotlights the people, places, and projects shaping Texas communities. New episodes publish weekly across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, with sponsorship support from Chisos Boots.