Prairie Notes #237 - Shifting Baseline Syndrome
Prairie Notes are monthly photo/journal observations from Tandy Hills Natural Area by Founder/Director, Don Young. They include field reports, flora and fauna sightings, and more, mixed with a scoop of dry humor and a bit of philosophy.
They are available free to all who get on the FOTHNA email list.
Shifting Baseline Syndrome
Prairie Notes #237
August 1, 2026
1) Shifting Baseline Syndrome
2) Field Report - August
3) New Species Report - August
4) Newsworthy & Noteworthy
5) Giving Day is 9-17-2026
6) PrairieSky / StarParty Report
7) Prairie Proverb - Ralph Waldo Emerson
1) Shifting Baseline Syndrome
“Keep it like it was!”
Edward Abbey, 1975“Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it.”
President, Teddy Roosevelt, 1903
This is a story about short memories and how they can fool us in to settling for less.
If time speeded up and we could see how the environment was degraded we might do more to stop it. But that’s not how things work. Most folks suffer from amnesia when it comes to big and small changes happening to themselves and the world outside. It happens right here in Fort Worth , too.
Who would have ever dreamed that Big Oil and Gas could usurp our laws and drill/frack in every neighborhood and zoning class. But with more than 3,300 gas wells producing in Tarrant County since 2004, the baseline has shifted. Our air, water and safety have been compromised. Tandy Hills and other parks escaped being fracked due to a handful of activists. But to newcomers or kids, this is normal. To those who were here before, it’s a NEW and unwelcome new normal.
“Shifting baseline syndrome" (SBS) is a situation in which knowledge about something or someone is lost over time. This happens because humans compare the current situation against a point of reference or baseline. This is usually fixed in our minds at a young age. This baseline shifts with each generation.
The natural world version is based on the fact that individuals and groups believe that the environmental conditions of their childhood were ideal or pristine. Therefore, what we now perceive as untouched nature would be considered degraded by our ancestors, and what we recognize as degraded would be pristine for the next generation. Big problem.
My focus here is mainly about Tandy Hills. Not too many years ago there were only hikers, birders, scientists and nature mystics prowling Tandy Hills. But now, there are hundreds of photography businesses plying their services here. They and their clients are here every weekend. That is a distressing new normal.
But if go back a few years to say, 1970, you might hear stories from past Tandy Hills stewards about trash dumpers, cars driving all over the park and dirt bikes carving a racetrack out of a prairie full of wildflowers. (Yes, that really happened.) People back then might be pleased with our current efforts to address those activities. They might also be appalled to learn about our current issues.
Go back much further and you discover that there was no Asian privet or other invasive species here before 1940’s when privet escaped cultivation and became naturalized here. If a person from the past were to transport here they would be amazed to see the loss of natives to privet. The baseline has shifted.
Of course, over millennia, succession can occur in a natural environment but that’s different from what we see today. The devastation of nature we are witnessing today, worldwide, happened rather quickly and devastatingly, by the hand and deed of man. The baseline is usually generational, but it can shift dramatically in just a few years, as with the current administration. Sacred places that were thought to be protected in perpetuity are being sold off or even given away to industry. The natural world can only take so much. The planet has too many people. Greed and shortsightedness is prevalent.
In our early efforts to promote Tandy Hills, we searched for a slogan that would resonate with the public and inspire them to help us protect and restore it. We chose this:
“Come to Tandy Hills and renew your connection to the natural world”
We continue to promote that sentiment and the action that supports it. Here are a few things that you can do to fight back against SBS:
Use the iNaturalist app to photograph and catalog what you see here
Participate in our various educational events and volunteer opportunities
Stay on Designated Trails and report violations to Fort Worth Park & Rec Department (817-392-5718) or FWPD
Support our prescribed burns
Teach your children the value of the natural world
Become a Friend of Tandy Hills
As always, thanks for reading these Prairie Notes and supporting Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area. Your donations are welcome HERE.
DY
This is the earliest known photo of Tandy Hills. FW Star-Telegram, April 27, 1924. Zero Asian Privet.
Similar location in 2010. Asian privet is a major challenge in habitat restoration efforts.
2) Field Report - August
Aside from a few dozen raindrops and the sweet smell of petrichor on August 25, the flamin’ hot blast furnace continued in August. There are many signs of fall, however. The fall prairie grasses are coming on fast and, two of the big woody species, Leavenworth’s Eryngo and False Gaura are now blooming. Bumble Bees were swarming the Eryngo plants. The Roundheaded Prairie Clover and even a few Texas Bluebells were still hanging on in late August. I am in awe of the toughness of prairie plants in this heat.
Mammal-wise, a Coyote was spotted in mid-August. Bird-wise, a Greater Roadrunner, was sighted and many dozens of Mississippi Kites were, and still are, soaring high above Tandy Hills. Insect-wise, Walkingstick bugs and Carolina Mantis, were creeping around the prairie on six long legs looking for prey. Speaking of “praying”, we are prairieing for some rain before the next Prairie Notes is published. Will I see you in September. . . ?
Click on pics for fuller experience.
The Trail of the Juniper Giants, recently cleared of invasives, is looking very inviting and fall-ish with fall prairie grasses filling in the west-facing meadow.
Beautiful blue sky and puffy clouds above a patch of False Gaura (Oenothera glaucifolia).
Snow-on-the-Prairie (Euphorbia bicolor) makes a festive impression against the summer blue sky.
Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia gilvescens)
Sideoats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula), sideways.
Mr. Bachelor Squirrel, and other critters are suffering from the excessive heat. This one appears to be living apart from other squirrels
On August 26, an unexpected cool front blew in. The thunder, lightning and rainbow were nice, but, alas, no rain. About 50 Mississippi Kites soared above.
The first colorful sunset of the month happened on August 24th. The next morning we had a few drops of rain and sweet petrichor. Then, back to 105°.
3) New Species - August
August was another slow month for finding new species. The overall species count is now 2,788. See a few notables below or see them all at the Tandy Hills iNat Project Page HERE.
4) Newsworthy & Noteworthy
>>>>>>> Birders will not want to miss the Fort Worth Audubon Society meeting on, Thursday, September 10th, 6:30 PM. Author and famous birder, David Sarkozi, will give a program titled, Beyond the Birds of Texas.
Note their NEW location: UNT Health Science Center, MET Building, Room 124. Program is free and the author will be in attendance. Get the link to attend virtually at FWAS.ORG.
>>>>>>> Green Source Texas has a new report on how urban development is impacting wildlife in the DFW region. There are some useful tips on how you can help. Our good friend and consultant, Sam Kieschnick, is interviewed. Check it out HERE:
America the Raped (1977). Image copyright, Don Ivan Punchatz.
>>>>>>> Tandy Hills is a go-to place for scientists, artists and educators from around the world. Yes. The latest out-of-state visitor was, Dr. JoVonn Hill who visited Tandy Hills in late July. He is the Director of the, Mississippi Entomological Museum and does a lot of work with Southeastern Grasslands Institute, who spent a week doing research at Tandy Hills in 2025. Dr. Hill is working on a book of North American grasshoppers and was checking out a few spots around Fort Worth to see what we have here. He did find one new species for Tandy Hills that I posted last month: N. American Spur-throated Grasshopper (Complex Melanoplus flabellatus)
>>>>>>> The Tandy Hills Land Management Team really earned their pay in August. Olivia, Josh, Jack and Keandre are here 4 days a week restoring habitat. In August, the team tackled the big central meadow on the north end of the natural area. This meadow is not only the largest open meadow here but is probably the healthiest. They had to cut and herbicide many dozens of Ashe tree re-sprouts. Check out the BEFORE and AFTER on the first two photos.
Your generous donations keep our crew working year round. You can support this vital work, HERE: https://www.tandyhills.org/donate
>>>>>>> The Friends of Tandy Hills invested in a high quality trail camera to see what kind of wildlife is out there, especially after dark. The solar-powered camera sends us a constant feed of live video data and can take a photo in 0.2 of a second. 48MP. 4K video. 4G network. We found a water hole that still has flowing water and our stellar land management team of Keandre, Olivia, Paige and Jack installed it in mid-August. Now we wait. A coyote was observed earlier this morning before the set-up. Updates will follow in coming months.
>>>>>>> New signs coming from FW Park & Rec in September. They have greatly improved the website and clarified the rules. The signs will be posted at all trail heads. Check out the new webpage HERE.
>>>>>>> In a related story, the City of Fort Worth Park & Rec Department has been trying for several years to obtain funding for Park Rangers at Tandy Hills. But we were rebuffed again in the latest attempt at funding. Tandy Hills has endured every kind of vandalism and illegal activities you can name. There are simply too many people coming here who will not follow the rules. Our sacred natural area continues to suffer from lack of enforcement. Tellingly, Fort Worth remains the only large city in Texas without Park Rangers. Read the latest on this sad old story in the Fort Worth Report HERE.
On weekend evenings, Tandy Hills is overrun by hundreds of photo businesses and people taking or posing for photos, off-trail. Due to a lack of Park Rangers, the damage is growing exponentially.
>>>>>>> This is great news! The Ben Street cut-de-sac, adjacent to Tandy Hills, is often used by ATV's and other troublemakers to dump trash or enter the natural area for nefarious purposes. The City installed this new gate to help control some of the issues we are having. The city bought 11 acres of land here in May 2026. Photo by, Mike Phipps.
5) Giving Day is: 9 - 17 - 2026
This will be our 13th year to participate in North Texas Giving Day. We depend on your philanthropy to help us care for this 225-acre natural area. The Emerson quote below is an apt description of the Friends of Tandy Hills. A handful of volunteers have invested countless volunteer hours and their own money to make up for city shortfalls. We are deeply committed to our cause.
Your support help us “keep it like it was.” People often ask me what that phrase means. I admit to stealing that line from my hero, Ed Abbey. For me, "Keep it like it was" is a defiant battle cry against, invasive species, previous neglect and mismanagement, vandalism and illegal activities that can permanently disfigure the landscape we all love. In other words, returning Tandy Hills back to what it was before it was neglected, abused and overrun. That’s what we do.
In an ever-expanding Fort Worth, Tandy Hills is a centrally-located oasis that, unlike some other natural areas, is free to enter. Your rewards for supporting our stewardship is cleaner air and water, less flooding and a beautiful landscape to escape the madness of the world. There is no place quite like Tandy Hills but it depends on YOU to keep it like it was. Official Giving Day is, September 17th! Donations accepted starting, August 27th.
> > > This is the direct link to our page on the Giving Day website:https://www.northtexasgivingday.org/organization/friends-of-tandy-hills-natural-area-inc
6) Prairie Sky / Star Party report
It was a great night for a star party on August 15th. There were 16 scopes set up and an enthusiastic crowd of 30+ members of the public. Even though it was hot during the day, a nice breeze kept us cool all evening. See the complete 2026 schedule, HERE.
Fort Worth Astronomical Society representative, John McCrea, has the forecast for the next star party on September 19th:
“Our September 19th FWAS/Tandy Hills star party will continue our Summer Under the Stars with some of our favorite summer constellations plus some fall constellations. The center of our galaxy can be found in the constellation, Sagittarius (the Archer). Also, visible will be some of the well-known constellations such as: Scorpius (the Scorpion), Lyra (the Lyre), and Cygnus (the Swan). The remaining are Ursa Major, Cancer, and Hercules. Virgo will be setting, and Pegasus (the Winged Horse) and Pisces (the Fish) will be rising. The summer triangle (Vega (25 LY), Deneb (1,411 LY), and Altair (17 LY)) will still be visible.
The sun will set at about 7:29 PM-DST on September 19th. The moon will be an 8.5-day old waxing gibbous in the constellation Sagittarius. The “Lord of the Rings” of our solar system, Saturn (♄) will rise about 8:15 PM in the constellation Pisces and will be up all evening, about 787 million miles away. Our telescopes will become time machines, and we will become time travelers, providing a look into the past as Saturn was, about 1 hour and 10 min. ago. Neptune will also be in Pisces.
The autumnal equinox, on September 22nd, is when there is equal light on the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. It is also when the earth’s tilt causes the Northern Hemisphere to have less direct sunlight.”
7) Prairie Proverb - Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm”
Become a Friend HERE: https://www.tandyhills.org/donate
Prairie Notes© is the official newsletter of Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. All content by Don Young except where otherwise noted.
