I’ve walked trails and sat on benches at the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge (FWNCR) a couple of times in the last week or so and cannot get it out of my mind. I’m happy to let the marsh, the woodlands, prairies, and bottomland forests take up space in my brain. It’s the worries on their behalf that I’d like to shake off.
I recently wrote about the FWNCR and its 3,650 acres where a substantial bit of North Texas wildness lives on. Green Source DFW had just published my article about discussions between the City of Fort Worth, the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT), and the Friends of Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge about the future of the nature center. BRIT now manages the Botanic Gardens and is now eyeing the nature center.
The City of Fort Worth website quotes BRIT CEO Patrick Newman saying, “The biodiversity crisis is affecting plants that are our food and possible cures for diseases. As we try to identify these plants, we want to link arms with the Nature Center and continue their great work as we move towards and create this possible partnership.” Does this mean BRIT wants to study the biodiversity crisis? Medicinal plants? Wouldn’t the easiest thing, the thing that would call for them to “link arms,” be to work together with the nature center through a research partnership? Without either one taking over the other, that is.
But the stated goals for the nature center, again quoting the city website, are, “increasing attendance and use of the center, membership, educational programs, and private support for research, conservation and investment.” One of the three issues being considered is, “Economic benefits for the City and BRIT.” In my Green Source article, I noted that the city’s Mark McDaniel said the plan was for attracting more visitors, ramping up marketing, and enabling more facilities and capital improvements.
You can see how I might worry about whether the nature center and refuge would stay wild. It’s not that we shouldn’t let more people know about FWNCR and invite them to visit. As I said a month ago, “We want everyone to share the refuge, learn from it, and fall in love with it. But not everyone all at once, and not by offering so many built attractions that people miss the point, which is the wildness.”
Please do not let this issue be buried in all the other news that we are preoccupied with. Let the City of Fort Worth Park & Recreation Department know what you think. Speak up for the nature center.
The gallery of photos below is from my recent visits to FWNCR. If you click the photo you can see it full-size.
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Yikes, those are some bizarre quotes. I suspect the BRIT board is looking for some way for an investment to make returns and I hate that nature has to be the one to be squeezed to do so. Increased attendance comes at a cost, too. Higher erosion on trails, more trash, crowded parking, threats to wildlife. Would they shut down if at capacity on the weekend? Wish the City would just invest in more natural areas!
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Agreed, we need more natural areas so they don’t get loved to death. Quite possibly what will happen is for the city to get out from under the expense of FWNCR and BRIT will expand its prestige and reach, and in the process the nature center or parts thereof will need to become more of an “attraction.” (For the record, the Deputy City Manager has told me they are committed to not overusing or overdeveloping it. Gotta keep an eye on it.)
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