Wild DFW

I liked this look into wildlife of the Dallas- Fort Worth area. As I am a resident of this area this is really helpful guide. My family and I will be using this for ideas of more wildlife areas to visit.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

This guidebook is by an author I was not familiar with. She has an impressive amount of experience and involvement with the DWF area described. Yes, I did some online snooping to see if she actually lived in or around and actually knew DFW. The counties included Denton and Collin which puzzled me. The DFW region has certainly changed over the years, now including counties which used to be rural farmland.
My youth was spent north of Denton on a large farm/ranch with a creek and copperheads, so especially appreciated the section on creeks, brought back many priceless memories. Wish I still had all those fossils I found. Having lived within driving distance of DFW for over sixty years I found this book one of the most unique and useful of it’s kind. The lakes and rivers of the adventures are integral to the regions described.
The content is well laid out in easy to read comprehensive sections. It doesn’t have to be read in order, easy to navigate to specific sections or locations you’d want to explore. The guides, pictures and drawings are lovely and useful. The birds who live and migrate in to our state are well represented in the narrative. A diverse selection of native Texas plant species are pictured and depicted, along with predators, reptiles etc. Pertinent information about invasive nonnative plants and their effect on our ecology is especially fascinating.
Most of the adventure areas suggested were familiar but there is a wealth of information included that was new and fresh to me. Wish I’d had access to this type of guide back when dragging the kids around Texas. It’s the type of reference guide you will continue to use and refer to. It’s not overwrought with technical lingo, just relatable terms. It could be used repeatedly for many adventures. I would recommend purchasing and reading it to both native Texas and new transplants.
My gratitude to NetGalley for the digital advance reader copy of “Wild DFW” by Amy Martin, published by Timber Press. Expected publication date is August 29, 2023. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without compensation.

Wild DFW is an awesome guide to nature in DFW. It covers the history of the land and the different ecosystems found across the Metroplex. My favorite feature is the Trinity River section that lists kayak/canoe trails.

I want to preface this review with saying that I am from and currently reside in the DFW area, so this review reflects that.

I really enjoyed this book! I would highly recommend that (especially) residents of the DFW area read it and see what you have been missing out on if you love nature. I found tons of places I haven’t stumbled upon in my own wanderings. Everything was listed out with details on parking/available restrooms, what to expect, plant life, beautiful hand drawn pictures, as well as photos). I am really excited to go to some of these places myself and see if I can feel the same level of love and wonder that the author projects in her writings about them. There are suggested adventures you can do by car, foot, or watercraft. I especially liked all the information provided about the various communities and locations where you could learn in depth about specific ecosystems. The only minor complaint I can possibly dredge up is the overuse of the word ‘riparian’. In some of the earlier pages it's used SO many times in the same paragraph/page, and while it is correct, it just stands out.

A combination of a history of natural areas, field guide, and tours through various trails guided by master naturalists, this guide provides locals with a large collection of ways to explore the natural areas in and around Dallas and Fort Worth. The end of the collection also includes listings for trails farther afield – about 2 hours away.

The narrative is leisurely and discusses many of the naturalist initiatives in the area. The trails include some bike trails, equestrian trails and accessible trails. The information provided about each trail notes also provides information about whether dogs are allowed as well as standard information such as difficulty, length of trail, location etc.

It may be that the guide is best suited to older walkers who would enjoy reading the lengthy descriptions by the author, describing her explorations of the trail by the naturalists. For people who would like to engage more with nature, there are ample resources mentioned throughout of various naturalist groups and descriptions of their work.

This collection of information provides a window into the various features of the natural areas within the area, and would be a good resource for locals eager to find more wild areas – and their access and trail details.

Wild DFW by Amy Martin is a super cool reference book for all things wild and wildlife in the DFW area. I have lived near DFW for the past fifteen years and was still surprised to learn about some little hidden gems amongst the big cities. I love how the book had a combination of beautiful color pictures and area maps. This helped me keep the locations straight. I now have a whole new list of places that I want to go visit.

I'm one of the photographers who contributed to this book and I was so excited to get a peek at it before it hits the stores. It is lovely and so detailed. My personal favorite part are all of the wonderful places listed that are good wildlife areas. I've been to many of them and the information provided was very good. I'm actually looking forward to going to the places I haven't been.

The section on species was great. I think this would be a fabulous book for anyone living in, moving to or planning to visit the DFW area of Texas.

Wild DFW is an informative look at the nature in and around a four county block of North Texas known as DFW. As a resident of north Fort Worth myself, I feel like I know a good amount about the area, but nothing comes close to the knowledge packed into this book. There are so many pictures and facts to accompany each species and location.

My favorite part is the Adventures section. There are 25 locations mapped out with all the details to help you explore each place. Info includes: address, length of the nature trail and it's difficulty, cost, parking situation, and info unique to each locale.

This book is perfect for anyone wanting to explore the area and I cannot wait to pick a place or two to check out this summer!

Thank you to NetGalley and Timber Press for an ARC of this informative book. 4 stars.

I believe exposure to nature and the natural world is so important for mental health and well being, and such an important development tool in the kit of how to raise a self sufficient and curious child. The author is an urban wildlife biologist, and takes a close look at the DFW area in terms of wildlife, both flora and fauna. I read this book as an ARC, but I will be purchasing it as I found the information so interesting, and I want to have a copy on hand as a reference.

The book first looks at how our area was geographically formed. Fort Worth and Dallas not only have very different characters, but they actually lie on two different and distinct land formations. There is some detailed history, then there are lovely photos showing all the animals that can be found in our area, and natirve plants that can flourish here. The author encourages using native plants, both to help our wildlife community, but also for ecological purposes. I already have a pollinator garden, but I will try to improve the amount of native plants in it.

Near the end of the book are nature areas that can be found in DFW, and a guide for what plants and wildlife you might see there.

I consider this to be a must have book for anyone in DFW who wants to know more about the environment that surrounds us, and anyone who wants to get closer to nature. There were areas highlighted that I knew nothing about, and I've lived in Fort Worth my whole life!

I absolutely love this book. I already know quite a bit about DFW nature, but there was more to learn. We’ve camped at every DFW State Park and have visited many of the places listed in the book, but there are some new places that we definitely need to visit and some old ones we should revisit in another season. It will definitely be buying this book for our home library. If you are looking to learn more about the nature in DFW and places you can visit to observe nature, then this is the book for you.

Thank you NetGalley and Timber Press for the opportunity to review this book.