Dallas Cowboy Island at River Legacy Park

Yesterday someone named Jeff left a comment on a post called "River Legacy Park Destruction Surprise." Basically Jeff did a big "Amen" to what I'd said about what I'd seen.

So, today I decided to ride my bike on the River Legacy trail and see what the current state of destruction is. Before I go any further I will tell you I was not feeling righteously umbraged by what I learned. This surprised me.

I parked at the main part of the park at the south side of the Trinity River, near the mountain bike trailhead. Crossing the bridge to the other side of what they are now calling Snider Legacy Creek, I came upon the sign you see above. I figured this closure was likely where I'd earlier seen preparations being made for a pipeline. I decided I'd pedal all the way to the end, to check it out. Even though I'd already hiked an hour on the strenuous Tandy Hills.

There were a lot of pieces of heavy equipment moving a lot of dirt, diesel fumes and dust in the air. I was not pleased. A couple years ago I got an overly earnest email from a River Legacy Park employee demanding I make certain changes to the webpage I'd made about River Legacy. And inform her when the changes were made. I made no changes. You can read that email and more here.

The River Legacy Employee's main deal was that River Legacy offers a natural experience and is trying to restore damaged areas. I was aiding and abetting the destroyers. Soon after that I was nearly killed by a natural gas seismic tester going the wrong way on a motorized vehicle on the River Legacy mountain bike trail.

So, I was pretty fed up with the hypocrisy of some of those associated with River Legacy. It bugged me that they were keeping kids from having fun building stunt bike trails. Those kids worked hard doing that. They were doing no harm to any sort of pristine natural area.

Back to today. So I was pedalling along and I stopped to take a picture of what looked to be some sort of dam, near where the beaver dam used to be. I thought this was all flood control land in the flood plain. Then I saw a guy come into view on the other side of the temporary fence. He was walking along the fence. When he got near me I asked what he was doing. He told me.

Then I asked what's going on here? Is this the Bird's Fort Development I read about long ago? He told me it was. I said it seemed way bigger than what I'd read. He said it was.

The project has changed since its inception. Projects often do. It was always supposed to be an ecologically friendly, high end type development. Due to the flood plain issue, the Army Corps of Engineers has become involved.

The existing "lakes" will be dredged, way way deeper. A new "lake" has been created west of Collins Street, dug deep enough to tap into the Trinity River Aquifer. This new "lake" will feed a series of several "lakes" in the Bird's Fort development.

Bird's Fort has been destroyed. It was already in bad shape. A facsimile will be put in its place along with historical markers. Bird's Fort was the location of one of the first American forts in north Texas.

An island is being built, surrounded completely by the "lakes." That island will be called Cowboy Island. For the use of the Dallas Cowboys. Either for homes, or, it is rumored, the current Dallas Cowboy training camp will be moved to Cowboy Island from Valley Ranch.

The "lake" nearest Collins Street will have a white sand beach and aerating fountains to keep the water clear. And open to the public for swimming. Currently none of the water retention ponds are swimmable due to being infested with water moccasins.

The land is owned by the Huffines. According to my anonymous source, the Huffines are the second biggest property owners in Texas, after the Perots. I learned this when I asked why there seemed to be no public discussion about what is going on here? Basically I got told that in Texas people like the Huffines do what they want to do and don't worry about little things like seeing if the public is on board with such a drastic alteration of the landscape.

I was told that the area abutting River Legacy Park is going to be totally restored, planted with native Texas Prairie Grass. The "lakes" will be full year round. This will definitely be an aesthetic improvement.

What really struck me about this "lake" project and the scope of it, was both Dallas and Fort Worth have had Trinity River Vision Projects that have been going on for years, both involving lakes. But little progress can be seen. While in Arlington, somehow a Trinity River Vision Project came to be with no fanfare and is now well underway with dirt moving and lakes filling, soon with the Dallas Cowboys on an island.

It all seems almost poetic.