Arlington residents no longer have to travel to Dallas or Fort Worth to visit a nature preserve, as the City's first is officially open after being in the works for years. City leaders, staff and residents celebrated with a ribbon-cutting event full of activities on Oct. 19 at the Southwest Nature Preserve.
Several involved in the multi-year project made brief remarks at Saturday's event, reflecting on the dedication, persistence and effort put into restoring, preserving and maintaining the 58-acre area's ecology.
In 2005 Arlington worked with the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit, to acquire the land, a remnant of the East Cross Timbers Forest. After securing funding, the City later purchased the acreage from the Trust and in 2010 worked with citizens, consulting firm Halff Associates and a 22-person Advisory Committee comprised of residents and numerous organizations -from Texas Parks and Wildlife to the Audubon Society -to develop a master plan.
Creating a preserve comes with a different set of challenges than a typical park does. For instance, there was a large public debate about whether the preserve should contain any concrete paths. Ultimately, a single concrete pathway to a pond boardwalk was constructed, but that will be the only concrete trail within the preserve.
"This community wanted to make sure we got it right, so we spent some time doing it right," said Parks Project Manager Kurt Beilharz, detailing numerous Advisory Committee and public meetings.
Phase I improvements to the preserve include a lighted parking lot with an electric entry gate, an amphitheater, shaded picnic tables and a boardwalk that leads to a fishing pier on one of the preserve's four ponds. Visitors are also greeted with educational signs about the area's ecosystem.
Saturday's event utilized all the new features, as the ribbon cutting took place in the amphitheater, Fort Worth Fly Fishers helped citizens fish in a pond, and families ate food provided by the Parks and Recreation department at the picnic tables. Master Naturalist Jim Varnum also hosted a nature walk to educate attendees about native plants.
Longtime Arlington residents Gil and Mia Russo brought their 8-year-old son, Chase, to the event. To the family's delight, he had already caught and released two fish by 11 a.m.
The Russos visited the preserve pre-renovation and look forward to coming back. "It's exciting to see how this has developed," Mia said. "We really love the trails and the dock they put in. This will be a wonderful, wonderful place to bring [Chase]."
The Southwest Nature Preserve is located south of I-20 at 5201 Bowman Springs Road. One-and-one-half miles of soft-surface trails line the interior of the preserve, and visitors can see the Fort Worth skyline from a high sandstone bluff known by locals as Kennedale Mountain. The City hopes to add two additional lighted parking lots, a pavilion and waterless toilet facility to the property in the future.
Headlines, News, Parks & Recreation