An eight-week survey this summer turned up 1,481 species of plants, animals and other organisms on land the city bought last year along Mary's Creek, the City of Fort Worth said Friday.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department worked with the city on the inventory of the Mary's Creek Open Space. Urban wildlife biologists Sam Kieschnick and Rachel Richter and TPWD intern Frankie Simmons led a group of naturalists who used game cameras, blacklights, binoculars and sweep nets to document what lives on the property.
Their 9,582 observations are logged on iNaturalist, a public platform for identifying and recording wildlife.
"The amount of biodiversity found on the property at Mary's Creek is truly remarkable," Richter said in the city's announcement. She said the team found many species that had never before been recorded in Tarrant County on iNaturalist.
What the land is for
The city bought the 92-acre tract in 2025, then sold 21 acres to the Tarrant Regional Water District for water infrastructure work. Of the rest, 51 acres are planned as traditional parkland and 20 acres are set aside as protected open space to stay in a natural state, according to the city.
Staff from the Park and Recreation Department and the Open Space Conservation Program plan to use the survey results to design low-impact amenities, so that a future trail system can be added without disturbing the habitats the team documented.
The work falls under the city's Good Natured Greenspace Initiative, which focuses on conserving natural areas, protecting the water supply and adding parks as Fort Worth grows.
