Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Trinity Trails supporters to speak out at Fort Worth city council meeting

By Don Young of FWCanDo

The beautiful and tranquil grove known as Trinity Trees on the Trinity Trails along the Trinity River in Fort Worth were forever changed by the the decision to drill a High Impact gas well inside that grove. This grove is not about a single tree, though it contains many giants, but the magnificent canopy that shelters and comforts thousands of trail users each week.

Despite assurances that the quality of the area would not be altered, there is not much to be said for a partnership between industry and parkland. The two simply aren't in the same league, don't co-exist with the same goals and don't have the same voice. The parkland that we knew as Trinity Trees will never be the same.

On Labor Day 2007, hundreds of people gathered together under the old growth canopy to demonstrate in favor of preserving one of the most pleasant, wondrously pristine and most frequently visited site on Fort Worth's landmark Hike and Bike Trail. We failed to keep out the drilling but we found comradeship.

This time, the Greenwood Grove is threatened with a High Impact gas well. This grove contains what are, undoubtedly, some of the largest trees in Fort Worth. Towering cottonwoods, oaks and pecans create a sheltering escape from a city gone mad.

The scenario this time is the same as before. A partnership between a private landowner and a big business want to drill another High Impact gas well that ultimately will affect the entire city and the citizens who invest in it.

There are few places left in Fort Worth to escape gas drilling. The Trinity Trails should be one of them, but the industry, some landowners and the city have conspired to NOT protect the Trinity Trails. What can be done?

Please join supporters of Trinity Trees at City Hall Tuesday evening, September 2nd at 6:30 pm to speak in favor of protecting the Greenwood Grove.

Also, please check out the Protect Trinity Trails website.

Pegasus News content partner - FWCanDo

See more stories in:

• Environmental Issues > Barnett Shale
• Politics and Government > City Government > Fort Worth

Comments

Dallas Spohn Verified

ok, maybe I am the jerk here. (most likely) But I think that we should set aside our feel good parades for the bigger picture sometimes. That bigger picture being, economy economics. On one hand I have shade, in a grove that I only go to once every couple of months. On the other hand I can afford to go to the grove because natural gas has come down so much thanks to Barnett Shell's work with fracturing the rocks and harvesting the gas that seeps out of it. I use to think of myself as a tree hugging liberal pot head. Now I see myself as a father who would do anything to show his family the quality of life that I took advantage of as a child.

3 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )