North Texas

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.