June 17, 2022
In Texas, it's open season on mountain lions (Puma concolor), also called pumas and cougars.
These iconic big cats can be shot or trapped in cages or leghold traps at any time of year. There are no limits on take and no requirement to report the number killed, referred to as harvesting, as long as the individual holds a valid Texas hunting or trapping license. Puma cubs can also be killed or trapped.
March 4, 2022
To the untrained hiker, privet is a cheery sign of spring on the trail. But to those who care for our natural areas in DFW, it’s a formidable foe.
"There's a greenbelt in my town,” said naturalist and native plant expert Carol Clark. “The trail seems green, leafy and inviting at first, but as you walk in, you realize because the privet grows so densely that there is no place to put a foot down anywhere but on the path.”
And it's all surrounded by dead silence, says Clark.
Feb. 25, 2022
For decades, the rocky woods and grasslands along Ten Mile Creek served as a nature retreat for residents of Duncanville, as well as Cedar Hill, Desoto and southwest Dallas.
The creek runs bright and clear through limestone ledges, sometimes spilling its banks to form small wetlands. River otters frolic in the water while great blue herons stalk fish. Beyond the riparian woods, hawks and owls hunt in open areas where scattered wildflowers bloom for pollinators.