By Charles Allen
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-897060.mp3
Dallas, TX –
At what point does development along the Trinity River destroy the natural beauty communities want to emphasize? Voters in Dallas have already approved a roadway, flood protection and recreation but debate continues on how much to leave alone. As part of KERA's continuing coverage of the Trinity we bring you two points of view. One is from naturalist and environmentalist Charles Allen who leads guided tours along the river.
The Trinity River is our wilderness, our forest, wetlands and grasslands, our wild place that serves us better than we know. Did you know that our drinking water comes from the river, its quality protected by the wilderness along the river? Did you know that the plants of our wilderness protect our air quality and offset the urban heat island effect? Did you know that the Trinity Flood Plain, especially the Dallas Floodway, protects us by holding floodwaters and moving them away from our city? Our wilderness gives us water to drink, air to breathe, and will protect us from floods if we will only let it.
To me, the wilderness is a wonderland of native plants and wildlife, historic sites and archaeology, fossils from ages past, and places for us to resonate with the rhythms of nature. This resonance has a healing quality, allowing us to reconnect parts of us that we did not know were missing, to travel back to the time before past and before future where past troubles can slip away and fears of the future vanish.
The psychological benefits of wilderness may be the river's greatest gift. New urbanism calls for greater population density, but there's a corresponding need for high quality natural areas where appropriate recreation reduces stress and increases health. A high quality natural area does not mean linear patterns of non-native plants surrounded by concrete and bounded by a high-speed toll road, all designed to celebrate the artifice of mankind. It does mean the natural geometry of our native forests, wetlands and grasslands, which we have in unnoticed abundance. High quality natural areas are cost-effective, since they already exist and require minimal expense for operation and maintenance.
One of the defining qualities of wilderness is difficult access, which protects archeological sites, rare plants and uncommon animals, and indeed protect the biological integrity of the wilderness itself. Difficult access challenges humans, requiring preparation and physical effort resulting in attainment of goals and deep satisfaction. This is also part of wilderness psychology. Thoughtful access to our wilderness will favor multiple use trailheads and natural surface trails which limit impact as well as costs and trails which respect our wilderness and avoid segmenting plant and animal communities. We should come to the river in our twos and threes, not by the thousands, or we'll find ourselves loving our wilderness to death.
We are the stewards of our wilderness along the river and we will be held to account for our actions. If we ignore the essential characteristic of the Trinity, which is to flood, then our fate will be worse than New Orleans. If we learn to respect the river then we can continue to enjoy its benefits. The river should be our pride, pride in the majority of a city which has preserved its wilderness and its flood protection instead of sacrificing our river and our safety on the altar of ignorance.
I will always love my river and I will never leave it. When enough people feel the same way maybe my work will be done. Until then, you'll find me in the place that I love, deep in the Trinity River bottom.
Charles Allen is a naturalist and environmentalist who has canoed the Trinity River for more than 20-years.
E-mail your questions or opinions about this commentary to kera.org.