Regional forest a precious, dwindling resource

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is an update on a column originally published in 2005.

Owen Yost

Cross Timbers Park is a very natural park in the southern portion of Denton. Many people might think that “Cross Timbers” is just a made-up name. However, Denton is mostly in the Eastern Cross Timbers region — a common name for this area in pioneer times, and the most prominent feature on historic maps from 1830 to about 1880.

Sadly, there are hardly any real “Cross Timbers” left today, having been plowed under and paved over to accommodate subdivisions, shopping malls, highways and the like. Which makes Cross Timbers Park very special.

The name’s roots can be traced back to several sources, depending on who’s talking. The most popular, however, is the natural geography and vegetation of this area. Most forests here run in north-south bands. Rivers, on the other hand, run roughly east to west. So the settlers (who avoided dangerous river crossings) had to cross several bands of forest as they traveled west. Thus the name Cross Timbers.

In academic, ecological terms, this area was a “savannah,” a grassland prairie spotted with trees — mostly post oaks and blackjack oaks in this instance. In many areas, the characteristic trees were so thick that they became forests. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Cross Timbers was a well-known geographic area delineating the eastern edge of the American grasslands.

Nowadays, however, there are embarrassingly few remnants of the original Cross Timbers. Much of the original soil has been “urbanized” by extensive construction, farming and introduction of non-natural soil. Even though 19th-century naturalists generally put the range of the Cross Timbers in a large stretch of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, it is now found in only a few parks and preserves, and isolated patches of countryside and floodplains.

Among the large, native trees were millions of tough smilax vines — those pesky, thorny vines also called cat’s claw vine or greenbrier. The plant combination was almost impenetrable by travelers. The natural Cross Timbers soil is sandy, porous, unstable and poor in nutrients. Consequently, the natural vegetation is fragile and easily killed.

The Cross Timbers is tied to our sandstone geology, and is limited by our climate, with rainfall being the biggest factor. The area — which includes Denton — gets between 23 inches and 43 inches of rain per year. Coupled with high summer temperatures and frequent droughts, this area is ideal for the native oaks. When artificial irrigation is introduced, many other plants will survive here, although vegetative life is still very fragile.

Despite a growing awareness of the Cross Timbers’ ecological and historic importance, what little remains is being demolished at an alarming rate. In the words of author Richard Francaviglia: “… developers are often either ignorant or arrogant. Thus, the Cross Timbers yields to the bulldozer in many locales, especially in the suburban areas where the prime real estate sites ... entice developers.” Francaviglia wrote The Cross Timbers and A Natural and Cultural History of the North American Cross Timbers.

A tiny bit of what this area used to be has been preserved as Cross Timbers Park. Non-native plants have mostly been removed, and a paved walking trail bisects it. The trail can be entered in several places. The best might be just off Hickory Creek Road, near McNair Elementary School.

As you stroll through Cross Timbers Park, take time to observe the plants and wildlife, and think of all that came before us and what Cross Timbers used to be.

OWEN YOST is a landscape architect emeritus from the Denton area, and co-owner of Denton’s Wild Bird Center. He is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), Keep Denton Beautiful, Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation and the Native Plant Society of Texas. Reach him by e-mail at yost87@charter.net .