A Deep Dive into the North Texas Ecotone and its Natural Wonders

Chapter member and author Amy Martin shares the fun yet nerdy naturalist material from her new book Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth. Why is North Texas an epic ecotone? What is the Great Trinity Forest the easternmost example of? How do tilted layers of bedrock shape our three ecoregions, foster a plethora of soil types, and lead to our plant and wildlife diversity? From the ancient inland ocean and melting ice caps that forged North Texas, to the goliath creeks and many forks of the Trinity, get clear on how water shapes our local landscape. Discover places to experience these tenets firsthand. Enjoy astounding photography by skilled naturalists of hardwood bottomland forests and Eastern Cross Timbers, soaring limestone escarpments, lush wetlands, and rare remnants of Blackland and Fort Worth Prairies. Get to know a diverse community of volunteers working for nature.

The edge of Austin Chalk with the more erodible Eagle Ford Shale create the vistas for which Cedar Ridge Preserve is known. Photo by Vijay Tanwar

Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_h9Ogq0LSTdumZLmvdFndWA#/registration

Schedule:

• 6:30 Socializing
• 7:00 Introduction and Announcements
• 7:20 Featured Presentation
• 8:45 Adjournment

Join us at Dallas College Brookhaven Campus, Building H, Room 125. Campus map. Or participate via Zoom — register here. (If you are attending in person, you don’t need to register for Zoom.)

The many layers of bedrock that reach the surface are responsible for the area’s diversity. Graphic by Scooter Smith.

Speaker Bio:

A journalist and writer for over 40 years, Amy Martin is the author of Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth, Itchy Business: How to Treat the Poison Ivy and Poison Oak Rash, Prevent Exposure and Eradicate the Plant, and co-author of Speaking of Mother Earth. She is currently senior features writer for Green Source DFW. Her current project is Ned Fritz Legacy, a biographical website of Ned Fritz, Texas’ most famous environmentalist. Martin sits on the Dallas County Open Spaces Trails and Preserves Program board and serves as state social media director for Native Prairies Association of Texas. For twelve years, she managed wildlife habitat rehabilitation on a private nature preserve in northeast Texas, including converting fifteen acres of pasture into tallgrass prairie. She is a certified Texas Master Naturalist with the North Texas chapter. Find her writings at Moonlady.com.