You may walk around DFW and feel like you’re in a concrete jungle, but with a bit more searching, you can escape the busy city and find beautiful creeks, wildlife refuges, parks and trails.
Amy Martin, journalist and naturalist, wrote ‘Wild DFW,’ a guidebook to exploring nature in and around North Texas. She spoke with NTX Now's Miranda Suarez and Ron Corning about where to find these pockets of nature in the metroplex.
These interview highlights have been edited for length and clarity. You can hear to the full conversation by clicking the 'listen' button above.
What type of landscape do we have in DFW?
Martin says DFW isn't a "vista-driven landscape" but rather an intimate landscape.
"You get in it and immerse yourself into it, and it kind of becomes a part of you," Martin said.
One particular area Martin mentions is the Ned and Genie Fritz Texas Buckeye Trail. Less than 15 minutes from downtown Dallas, Martin describes this trail as an out of this world experience.
"You'll see deer there, and it gets very quiet," Martin said. "You start to realize just how much sound there is in nature."
"You may not see the coyotes and armadillos and even the small fawns that are hidden in the grass," she said. "But they're there, and they're watching you, and if you just stop for a little while, you kind of become part of the land."
What ecosystems exist in North Texas?
DFW is so large, there are a variety of ecosystems from the west side of Fort Worth to far east Dallas.
Martin explains that on the east side of Dallas is Blackland Prairie. This is where we see dark dirt and massive trees.
In the middle of DFW, the area is the Eastern Cross Timbers. The soil is sandy, and the historical name for the area was the "Cast Iron Forest." Martin said that was because the area was extremely dense and difficult to get through.
Then on the west side of the metroplex, there's the Fort Worth Prairie, where the land is hard and rocky.
Texas Parks & Wildlife
Martin says there was a period of time when land in Texas was not managed well, but Texas Parks & Wildlife has been a great resource in both preserving and managing the land in a better way.
"I often say that we are lucky to be in a state with Texas Parks and Wildlife. They excel in what they do and a lot of their employees come out of the Texas A&M college system which is really excellent when it comes to land management," Martin said.
Miranda Suarez and Ron Corning are the hosts of KERA's NTX Now. Got a tip? Email Miranda at msuarez@kera.org or Ron at rcorning@kera.org.
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