![Spring Creek Forest Preserve](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Spring_Creek_Forest_Preserve.jpg)
The Spring Creek Forest Preserve is a city-owned nature preserve located in
Garland
A garland is a decorative braid, knot or wreath of flowers, leaves, or other material. Garlands can be worn on the head or around the neck, hung on an inanimate object, or laid in a place of cultural or religious importance.
Etymology
From the ...
, a suburb of
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
.
History
In 1978, Bobby C. Scott, a self-taught
botanist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
, recognized some plants in a section of woods in
Garland, Texas
Garland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located northeast of Dallas and is a part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is located within Dallas County except for small portions located in Collin and Rockwall Counties. At the ...
as indicators of
virgin forest
''Virgin Forest'' is a 1985 Filipino period film directed by Peque Gallaga. A self-described B-movie, it stars Sarsi Emmanuel, who plays a barrio lass of Chinese ancestry; Miguel Rodriguez, as a Filipino-Spanish illustrado; and, Abel Jurado, wh ...
. The existence of virgin forest within city limits is highly unusual, as the 19th Century settlers in the area typically cut down the forests for use in construction or to clear land for farming. For the next decade, Mr. Scott fought for the preservation of this area, known as the Spring Creek Forest, named for the primary creek running through it. He and Dallas naturalist
Edward C. "Ned" Fritz worked together to present a case to the City of Garland and
Dallas County Dallas County may refer to:
Places in the USA:
* Dallas County, Alabama, founded in 1818, the first county in the United States by that name
* Dallas County, Arkansas
* Dallas County, Iowa
* Dallas County, Missouri
* Dallas County, Texas, the nin ...
for preservation. The pair brought in academic and government botanists, who confirmed the unique nature of the Forest, and identified several rare and unique plants. In 1988, Dallas County and the
State of Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...
purchased of the land to set aside as the Spring Creek Forest Preserve. The land was given to Garland for maintenance. Since 1987, the City of Garland and the Preservation Society for Spring Creek Forest are responsible for maintaining the nature trails within the Preserve.
Landscape
The preserve is situated in northern Dallas County, and features old-growth
bottomland
Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland.
Definitions
Upland and lowland are portions of p ...
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
with a gentle, wide spring water stream that flows over a bed of solid
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
. The force of the water has cut cliffs from the surrounding Austin Chalk. The towering 20- to 40-foot-tall () cliffs contain
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
fossils dated at 87 million years old, a combination primarily found only in Garland. Austin Chalk is also found in the eastern portion of the
DFW Metroplex
DFW may refer to:
Businesses
*, an early twentieth century German aircraft manufacturer
*Dutch FilmWorks, a film distributor
*Duty Free World, a US-based in-flight shopping company
Government agencies
*Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (Mass ...
heading toward the
Texas Hill Country
The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Ameri ...
. Several geologic formations are interspersed along the last of the creek located in Garland and
Richardson
Richardson may refer to:
People
* Richardson (surname), an English and Scottish surname
* Richardson Gang, a London crime gang in the 1960s
* Richardson Dilworth, Mayor of Philadelphia (1956-1962)
Places Australia
* Richardson, Australian Cap ...
. The entire length of the creek, named Spring Creek, is spring fed at a constant . The swift water of Spring Creek varies in depth between one and six feet (0.3 meter - 2 meter) and is about wide. Even in years of extreme drought, . The water clarity allows one to watch the native
Longear Sunfish
The longear sunfish (''Lepomis megalotis'') is a freshwater fish in the sunfish family, Centrarchidae, of order Perciformes. It is native to the area of eastern North America stretching from the Great Lakes down to northeastern Mexico.Berra, Tim ...
, which can be seen gliding along against the white, limestone bottom. The abundant water supply has allowed the forest to survive for centuries. Some of the trees in the forest are as much as 500 years old and tower on trunks that are in diameter. Five varieties of oak live in the forest, including
chinquapin,
bur
A bur (also spelled burr) is a seed or dry fruit or infructescence that has hooks or teeth. The main function of the bur is to spread the seeds of the bur plant, often through epizoochory. The hooks of the bur are used to catch on to for exam ...
, and
shumard, a combination found nowhere else in the world. Native plants include the
solomon's seal,
horsetails
''Equisetum'' (; horsetail, snake grass, puzzlegrass) is the only living genus in Equisetaceae, a family of ferns, which reproduce by spores rather than seeds.
''Equisetum'' is a "living fossil", the only living genus of the entire subclass Eq ...
and Pennsylvania violet (Viola pennsylvanicum). More than 630 species of plants and animals have been observed in addition to the many species of dragonflies, spiders, mites, beetles, fungi, and ants living in the forest.
Preservation
The densely shaded preserve has been improved with miles of earthen trail and a short quarter mile section of concrete trail leading from the paved parking lot to the water's edge. The land won preservation status due to its unique old growth trees and endangered species. The preserve website contains thousands of photographs of the landscape, flowers, wildlife and water. In keeping with the goals of the preservation society, the forest is kept as natural as possible so that visitors can step back in time and experience life as it was before the area was settled by the Peter's Colony in 1846. Every February, nature walks are held by the society to celebrate the blooming of the
trout lily
''Erythronium'', the fawn lily, trout lily, dog's-tooth violet or adder's tongue, is a genus of Eurasian and North American plants in the lily family, most closely related to tulips. The name Erythronium derives from Ancient Greek () "red" in ...
(dogtooth-violet), a wildflower that is considered the harbinger of Spring for locals. The annual walks attract about 30 to 50 outdoors people each year.
While this pristine, clear water creek runs through the solid limestone of three cities, only two parcels of land abutting the creek have been given preservation status. These are the Spring Creek Forest Preserve, owned by the city of Garland; and the Dallas County Park Preserve, owned by Dallas County Parks and Open Spaces. Both preserves are across the street from each other on Holford Road. The majority of Spring Creek has been land locked by private housing developments and commercial office buildings along its entire ten-mile length for decades. These two parks are all that is left of the land once inhabited by tribes of the Caddo nation.
The total preservation area contains two sections. The Lee F. Jackson Spring Creek Forest Preserve, where official tours are held at 1770 Holford Rd., contains approximately . The Dallas County Park Preserve located on the opposite side of the bridge at 1787 Holford Rd., contains . The Preserve is maintained and managed by th
Spring Creek Forest Preservation Societya not-for-profit organization formed in 1987 to oversee the park under the direction of the Garland Parks and Recreation Department as provided under its contract with Dallas County. The all volunteer Society holds monthly meetings from September through May with a monthly volunteer work day held on Saturdays. For times and locations of the meetings, please see the organization calendar at
[http://www.springcreekforest.org.]
The land was originally purchased from private land owners through a Dallas County Bond Election. The primary land owner was Ann C. Weary, who sketched the trees in intricate detail.
Future
Today, there exists a great quantity of undeveloped acreage, which could be preserved, on both publicly and privately owned land. Due to the , current private landowners will most likely sell their land to commercial developers. The city has allocated toward the construction of playgrounds and soccer fields, some built directly along the banks of the stream. The destruction of this area began to escalate with the completion of the
190 Bush Tollway, which passes directly over Spring Creek. Official development of the area has been in the active planning stages for at least the last decade. The most recent major projects have been the completion of the nearby Firewheel Golf Course and the newly developed
Firewheel Town Center
Firewheel Town Center is a open-air regional shopping mall in Garland, Texas. The mall is located on the northeast corner of President George Bush Turnpike and State Highway 78. The mall opened on October 7, 2005. Although "coming soon" signs ...
, a.k.a., shopping mall. The area is slated to become a major tourist attraction for corporate travelers due to its proximity t
Richardson's Telecom Corridor The middle waters of Spring Creek flow in the shadows of th
Owen's Sausagefarm/processing plant and several computer technology skyscrapers
Walmart and Sam's Clubwere built within hundreds of feet of the preserve with little protest from the citizenry. The headwaters literally flow under
Collin Creek Mall
Collin Creek Mall was a two-level, enclosed regional mall in Plano, Texas opened in 1981 and closed for redevelopment in 2019. It was located near the intersection of US 75 (Central Expressway) and President George Bush Turnpike. Since September ...
in Plano.
As with any major commercial development, the value of the few remaining parcels along Spring Creek have begun to skyrocket. City officials admit that the city is now officially landlocked since it is also surrounded on all sides by other suburbs. This means that the remaining ecologically sensitive area located on private lands is in danger of developmental destruction. The only way for the remaining natural limestone outcroppings, dramatic elevations and large colonies of Trout Lilies to be preserved, is for a philanthropist to come forward and purchase land for preservation. While it was hoped by many citizens for many years that the county would purchase the land, or in the least that the city Planning and Zoning Commission would only approve environmentally related businesses, it is now apparent .
References
External links
Spring Creek Forest Preservation Society, a city-sanctioned non-profit that maintains the integrity of the forestFriendsofSpringCreek.com, a grassroots organization of citizens from Plano, Richardson, and GarlandDallasWildlife.org, a hiking and nature group that frequently hikes the trails along Spring Creek
{{coord, 32, 57, 49.42, N, 96, 39, 13.59, W, display=title, region:US-TX_type:landmark
Parks in Texas
Geography of Garland, Texas
Protected areas of Dallas County, Texas