Environmental advocates in Dallas are celebrating a successful campaign to make the new convention center safer for migratory birds.
Millions of birds nationwide are killed each year from colliding into buildings as they make their seasonal migration, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Several thousand of those deaths happen in North Texas, which is a major route on the birds’ migration path.
This week the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, which is currently undergoing a $3.7 billion renovation, unveiled its plans to save bird lives through its new design.
“Community members raised concerns about the environmental impacts of extensive glass façades, citing the site’s history and migratory location,” the convention center’s website reads. “The design prioritizes environmental stewardship by using bird-friendly glass with subtle visible patterns that birds can see, reducing collisions while preserving natural light and transparency for the community.”
Planners with Inspire Dallas said the building's redesign was unveiled last year and they aim to share more details on the full renovation "soon."
"The project team has been working closely with a dedicated ecologist throughout the design process," said Scott Goldstein, who supports communications at Inspire Dallas. "We appreciate the advocacy and expertise of our local conservation community and remain committed to delivering a design that both welcomes the public and protects migratory birds along the Central Flyway."
Ian Seamans with Environment Texas has been advocating for the center’s redesign along with more than a dozen organizations including the Texas Conservation Alliance, Audubon Texas and the American Bird Conservancy. These groups were instrumental in raising awareness of bird collisions as part of the national "Lights Out" campaign encouraging residents and businesses to turn their lights off at night to prevent bird collisions.
Dozens of volunteers were involved in a years-long effort to document bird collisions in downtown Dallas, finding that the convention center, with its reflective sky bridge, was a magnet for bird deaths.
“We believe that the convention center in particular will save thousands of birds every year by doing this renovation,” Seamans said. “This will serve as a model for other buildings in DFW and we hope to pursue it further with perhaps other city buildings at least in the future.”
Seamans called the new design a victory for environmental groups that had been encouraging city planners to consider bird-friendly glass. More than 1,000 Dallas residents and advocates signed a petition asking the city for the change.
“This is a very important step towards making sure that birds, which are in decline across the United States, are not dying unnecessarily in Dallas,” Seamans said. “We think that this will be a great way to achieve conservation goals in the DFW area.”
Pablo Arauz Peña is KERA’sgrowth and infrastructure reporter. Got a tip? Email Pablo at parauzpena@kera.org.
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