Welder Flats consists of 1,480 acres of submerged land immediately north and west of the junction of the Victoria barge canal with the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The preserve is a relatively natural area of coastal submerged land predominantly used by naturally occurring wildlife. The area has a highly productive aquatic vegetation, with moderate to scattered heavy stands of shoalgrass (Halodule wrightii) and widgeongrass (Ruppia maritima) and several species of algae. Inventories of wading and shorebird species have not been conducted for this particular area, although they are probably similar to avian occurrences on the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and Matagorda Island Wildlife Management Area. The preserve has high value nursery ground for red drum and spotted sea trout.