Nov. 1, 2024

Recently, discussions at the Fort Worth City Council revealed that the city is considering handing off some or all of the management of the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge (FWNCR) to the nonprofit Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT). 

BRIT now manages the Fort Worth Botanic Garden and has voiced interest in bringing their education programs, research expertise and management skills to the 60-year-old nature center and wildlife refuge.

Discussions are ongoing between the city of Fort Worth (which owns the Nature Center), BRIT and the nonprofit Friends of Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge. The Friends group provides financial support for many Nature Center projects, owns the bison herd at the Refuge and supports research projects at the Center. Their mission is “to preserve and protect the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge for future generations.”

Acting FWNCR manager Dr. Jared Wood noted that a public-private partnership might bring additional resources.

“We’re very receptive to opportunities that balance enhancing the Nature Center with maintaining its integrity,” said Wood. “The Nature Center has been in communication with city management and with management at BRIT regarding the possibility of an official partnership, though everyone agrees that at this early stage, all we’re doing is exploring what such a partnership might look like.”

KEEPING IT WILD

A white-tailed deer peers out from the woodland near the Hardwicke Interpretive Center. Photo by Michael Smith.

The question that looms over these discussions about new management is whether the Nature Center can grow in a new direction without losing its naturalness.

Maintaining the Nature Center's 3,650 acres of woodland, prairie, savannah, wetlands and bottomland forest in a healthy wild state is an enormous responsibility. FWNCR has a 60-year legacy of conservation. 

The Center was born in 1964 through the efforts of the Fort Worth Audubon Society, the city and numerous others. The Center was built around Greer Island, but grew to its current size as one of the biggest city-owned nature centers in the U.S.

Over the years, the Nature Center’s staff have defended the natural integrity of this natural gem and pioneered practices such as small-scale prescribed fires that are part of how prairies survive. FWNCR staff took on the destructive feral pigs that wander in from nearby, tear up habitat and pose a potential threat to visitors. With their control strategies, far less pig damage is evident within the Refuge. 

The staff’s work also involves preserving the native flora. The staff removes invasive plants that come in from the surrounding city, such as privet, that would take over the Refuge if allowed to. 

They also carry out research so that we can better understand the species and ecosystems there. Current research includes studying the resident population of American alligators at the Refuge.

RECORD ATTENDANCE AND REVENUE

Acting Fort Worth Nature Center manager Jared Wood congratulates the Center's one-millionth visitor last summer. Courtesy of FWNCR.

The popularity of the Nature Center appears to be growing.

Last summer the Nature Center’s total number of visitors (since they began counting in 2006) reached one million. According to Wood, the Nature Center has set attendance records in seven months of the past year, reaching a record-setting number of daily visitors (about 1,400) last Saturday. A new record for revenue was also set in the past year.

In addition, thousands of schoolchildren have visited the Center and taken part in activities and education programs. 

Despite these successes, retired FWNCR manager Suzanne Tuttle said that addressing the Nature Center’s finances — especially personnel costs — has “been in the mind of city government for decades,” and so for her the discussions are not surprising. 

The public-private partnership under which BRIT is managing the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens opened the door for these discussions. 

Deputy City Manager Mark McDaniel said that the current discussion was also partly “born out of the new conversation around green space,” and its emphasis on partnership with the private sector. Last year, the city tapped McDaniel to help move forward Mayor Mattie Parker’s Good Natured initiative, which aims to preserve at least 10,000 acres of green space — including parkland — over the next five years.  

McDaniel cited how those partnerships have worked with the Fort Worth Zoo and the Botanic Gardens. 

A member of the Fort Worth Nature Center's bison herd can be seen just below the Bison Viewing Deck. Photo by Michael Smith.

ASSESSMENT

McDaniel said that BRIT is doing an assessment of assets, facilities, and staff of the Nature Center “to better understand what sort of business model might work best.” 

He said he expected the assessment to be complete within the coming months, by early 2025. 

“If we decide to go forward, implementation would take from one to two years.”

The plan to take the Nature Center to “the next level,” as McDaniel put it, would entail increasing programming, attracting more visitors and ramping up marketing. 

Increases in private funding would enable more facilities and capital improvements. 

I talked with McDaniel about when there might be opportunities for input from the public.

“We’ll definitely have an opportunity for public input,” he said.

The CEO of BRIT, Patrick Newman, agreed that Nature Center staff and the public would have input at some point in the future. Newman said it was “probably a little bit premature” to start soliciting feedback at present. 

“[The discussion] is still very preliminary and we are still engaged in what I would describe as informal conversations [between BRIT, the city and the Friends group.]”

Newman cited BRIT’s successes in working with Fort Worth in a public-private partnership, doing “some wonderfully transformative things at Botanic Gardens.” 

“We look at the Nature Center, which is a tremendous gem, and I think all parties would probably agree it’s deserving of attention and resources more than it may be getting at the moment.” 

The PowerPoint presentation given by BRIT at Fort Worth City Council in September included graphs of the Fort Worth Botanic Garden’s revenue showing decreases in the percentage of costs borne by the city and increases in revenue from sources other than the city budget starting in 2022. BRIT took over management of the Gardens in 2020.

That presentation also briefed council members about BRIT’s ideas regarding FWNCR, saying that the goals were to “increase attendance and use, membership and philanthropy, educational programs and volunteerism, and private support for research and conservation, capital investment.” 

NEED FOR BALANCE

The Marty Leonard Lotus Marsh Boardwalk reopened on Earth Day after extensive renovation. Photo by Michael Smith.

When speaking with longtime Nature Center supporters, we found they all agreed that those considering the Nature Center’s future should take into consideration its original purpose — to preserve a piece of Fort Worth’s natural ecosystem.

“I think the value of the Nature Center is what it is,” said Marty Leonard, longtime Nature Center supporter and Member Emerita of the Friends of Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge. She noted that the mission of the Nature Center involves the preservation and protection of natural areas. 

“I think that says it better than anything and that isn’t to say that there can’t be improvements in it.” 

Such recent improvements have included the bison viewing deck, the recently rebuilt marsh boardwalk named in honor of Leonard, and in the future might include a new visitor center. 

“While we are all interested in preservation and improvements for the Nature Center, I think it is wise take a look at how that might be accomplished. If it is determined that BRIT is the best source for accomplishing that goal that should be made clear.”

Suzanne Tuttle, who worked at the Nature Center for nearly 25 years, in several roles — first as an education naturalist, Natural Resource Manager and then General Manager from 2005 to 2016 — said, “My primary goal when I was the manager was to keep us focused on our mission.” 

The FWNCR website shows that the mission is “enrolling and educating our community in the preservation and protection of natural areas while standing as an example of these same principles and values in North Central Texas.” 

A path winds through a yucca stand on the Canyon Ridge Trail at the Fort Worth Nature Center. Photo by Julie Thibodeaux.

Tuttle said that preserving the bulk of the Refuge for animals to live there is important, especially those who might not be able to survive in a smaller place. She said that when she was manager, she learned to plan trails so large portions stayed undisturbed for wildlife. The Oak Motte trail, for example, is a big loop with lots of undisturbed habitat within it.

Large size also makes possible lots of very valuable ecosystem services.

“We’ve got this huge area that’s like a big sponge when they need to let water out of Eagle Mountain Lake,” Tuttle said.

The Refuge can slow and absorb some of the water and filter it. And nothing gets destroyed.

She also cited the mental health benefits of nature. Research has documented a variety of benefits to both body and mind from spending time in nature.

Tuttle described the preserve as “a living natural history museum.” 

“And we’re also trying to preserve a little piece of Fort Worth history, not only landscape but historic wildlife.” 

Taking a walk through the undeveloped wildscape, visitors learn what the land was like before most of the area became an urban landscape. We can learn about the trees and other plants that are native to the area as well as see bison, hawks, prairie dogs, armadillos and other wildlife.

For many people, it matters that the Refuge is maintained with a light touch, so that the woods, prairies and wetlands are the focus. Dirt paths take us among the trees and grasses. Benches are scattered here and there, available but not distracting from the scenic views. 

“There’s an intimacy to that place because it is part of our community, and it is great that it remains wild, not curated for our use,” said Kayla West, a nearby resident who frequently visits the Nature Center. “Our presence is not a dominating force there.”

We all have a stake in this issue and can make our voices heard as plans move forward. In the coming months, readers may want to have input on the process. The Fort Worth Parks Department website lists a phone number and address. You can also keep track of the Fort Worth Park and Recreation Department at their Facebook page.

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