Trees communicate with us. Ned Fritz listened and championed efforts to prevent the canalization of the Trinity in the 1970s and threats of industrialization and Corps of Engineers construction in the bottomland in the 1980s. In the process, he discovered the Texas Buckeye grove and its sheltering bur oak, then already over 100 years old. The historic tree was named in his honor. He and his wife Genie led forest tours to educate decision-makers and voters about the vulnerable treasures of the bottomlands. Countless volunteers have carried on their work, resulting in the formal trail designation and creation of the Great Trinity Forest Park.
On the Blackland Prairie, trees communicate shade and resources for survival.
- The tallest cottonwoods, the presence of bottomlands and water, the rustling of their large delta-shaped leaves the very sound of coolness, and soft wood for building
- Pecans, another tall bottomland dweller, the presence of a winter food staple and a signal, “when the leaves are the size of a mouse ear,” for farmers to plant corn
- Bois d’Arc, with their arching limbs, is the source of the hardest decay-resistant wood prized by Wichita people for longbows and grass hut timber, settlers for foundations for houses and even main streets in farming towns, and farmers for fence posts (bois d’arc fence posts are still visible along the trails)
- American elms, an inner bark for making strong cords, and the slippery elms, an inner bark with medicinal ointment and pain-relieving benefits and twigs for toothbrushes
- Texas buckeyes, the arrival of spring with their large cream and yellow blooms (buckeyes are not as delicate as they look; Indigenous people were known to immerse crushed toxic buckeye nuts in streams to stun fish for easy catching)
Indigenous people, and the Comanche in particular, created ‘marker trees’ by bending saplings to grow horizontally and mark trails, crossings, campsites, and sacred places. Numerous Comanche marker trees have been recorded, and still exist in the Trinity basin.
Tawny Emperor
Trees are indispensable habitat generators. The hackberry, for example, is the sole host for the Tawny Emperor butterfly, whose bright green larva is a draw for hungry birds. Cottonwoods provide soft wood for burrowing birds and mammals. Even dead limbs and trees in the forest offer pools of water and a wealth of insects for wildlife predators.
Buckeye
Today, the historic bur oak, Texas buckeyes, and cedar elms along the eastern Trinity bank are threatened by rapid erosion, and numerous dominant and understory trees are impacted by more frequent flooding, from increased runoff caused by upstream development; ash trees face an existential crisis from the invasive emerald borer beetle; and Texas buckeyes are threatened by Chinese privet, an invasive fast-growing species that crowds and robs the buckeyes of sunlight and nutrients.
The City of Dallas has adopted a long-term Great Trinity Forest Management Plan to assist the forest in confronting these threats by selectively opening the canopy and reintroducing heavy-seeded oaks and other hardwoods and more diverse understory plants to create an all-aged diverse habitat, returning the forest to its primitive glory. You can help by advocating for implementation and compliance with this long-neglected forestry plan.
The forest, which is not just a sensory delight but biologically therapeutic, still seeks our help in reaping the benefits it offers.
