News from the River (Cont.)

The Great Trinity Forest Management Plan –
A sustainable multi-use study
The Great Trinity Forest Management Plan is an impressive document commissioned by the Trinity River Corridor Project. It is a comprehensive management plan addressing the wildlife habitat, recreational, and forest management needs of the City of Dallas’ Great Trinity Forest for the next 100 years. For a short preview of the information contained in the plan, visit www.trinityrivercorridor.org and click on the icon on the Home Page to access the executive summary.

This voluminous document complete with numerous charts, graphs, and carefully documented and researched information on the Great Trinity Forest is the work of Gary D. Kronrad, Ph.D and his team at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas where he is a professor in the Department of Forestry.

The document is an initial draft plan presented to Bryan Kilburn, forest manager on the Trinity River Corridor Project. Comments will be compiled by Mr. Kilburn. In future months, the plan will be presented to the Trinity River Corridor Project Committee for final review and approval as the foundation for forest management and sustainability for the City of Dallas. The 15,000 page Great Trinity Forest Management Plan is available on DVD by contacting the Trinity River Corridor Office at mytrinityriver@dallascityhall.com or by calling 214-671-9500.

SCA Trail Work
Near Rochester Park, the Student Conservation Association worked tirelessly in the hot Texas sun during July to literally blaze a new trail into the Great Trinity Forest. The trail will be inaugurated later this year with a bike adventure race which will be sponsored by the City of Dallas. The trail will become a favorite of mountain bike enthusiasts by providing a challenging 4.5 mile circuit deep within the forest passing natural Dallas wonders such as the Trinity River, trophy trees, meadow lands and wetland areas.

Clearing the trail and making it ready for hiking and biking is just a portion of the project. With Park Board approval at a later date, it will receive an official name. After the naming, a kiosk and other signage will be installed along the trail. The trail entrance will be at Rochester Park located at 7000 Bexar Street, Dallas 75215.

The SCA student trail work connects to a portion of trail that was built earlier in the summer by the Groundwork Dallas Green Team, an organization that also focuses on projects to engage youths from the gateway communities along the Trinity River and Great Trinity Forest providing them with jobs and training in the areas of environmental sciences and outdoor recreation.

The City of Dallas is pleased to commission a fine organization, the Student Conservation Association, for trail work. SCA members are high school and college-age volunteers from all academic and personal backgrounds who are deeply committed to conservation and interested in gaining hands-on experience. SCA founder, Elizabeth (Liz) Titus Putnam was in Dallas during the trail work and spent part of a day at the site cheering on the volunteers and encouraging them with her love of nature and conservation. The vision for SCA was spurred by a 1954 paper she wrote at Vassar College as a senior.

Fast Track Overlook Construction – Kicks up the dirt!!
The Fast Track Overlook (Observation Deck) located at the intersection of Beckley Avenue and Commerce Street will be under construction in early August by a company named Fast Trak Construction, Inc. – so this project is definitely slated to move fast and be completed October 31, 2008. Once complete, visitors to the Overlook will be able to relax and enjoy the view of the construction in the immediate vicinity of the Overlook.