This is an e-letter I sent to Downtown Fort Worth inc. for their strategic plan input since it would not fit the one-liner format the "Mind Mender" project site uses. I will go back and put in a greatly abbreviated version but I thought someone downtown should be able to see the actual idea spelled out in abstract form.
WARNING: For those of you squeamish about bats go to the next topic -
Sirs,
It seems to me there may be several loose ends in current Downtown Fort Worth plans that could be addressed by a fairly simple but certainly "out of the box" idea based on a successful idea from Austin: to make life easy for seasonal migratory bat populations.
Consider:
When retrofitted several years ago the Congress Street bridge in Austin accidentally gained ideal bat habitats between the concrete beams beneath the roadway. The city's initial plan was to exterminate the colony as a public nuisance, but innovative minds prevailed and today the bat flights on summer evenings are a major tourist attraction along the downtown riverbank. Several years ago TxDOT agreed that the new TRV bridges in Fort Worth would be built with the same support span specifications to make it easier for bats to roost there.
There was once a significant bat colony living between the walls and in the sub-basements of the Kress Building in Fort Worth, but they were sealed out of the building when discovered after many years living there, and the colony extinguished. Same story on a smaller scale in the Sundance Square parking garages where nets were installed to keep the bats from roosting.
The new Trinity River Vision is going to create many acres of standing shallow water downtown; the ideal habitat for pesky and disease-bearing insects, particularly mosquitos. West Nile Virus is a major health issue in this area, but there are other less deadly afflictions that mosquitos carry, and even the non-infected bites will keep visitors inside and away from the natural features that the open areas along the Trinity River have to offer.
There is a long-abandoned tunnel downtown formerly used for the M&O/Tandy Center Subway, an innovative privately-owned urban transportation system. That tunnel is today unused and presents a liability for the city and for the developers of the City Center complex being renovated at the southern terminus of the tunnel.
Now:
If that tunnel could be re-opened and gated with a structure appropriate for a bat colony there is a good possibility that migrating Mexican Freetail Bats (Tadareda brasiliensis) might make that "cave" their home. The evening flights out of the cave would be a spectacular sight that would attract visitors, even out-of-town tourists, to the central city. The immediate area around the opening would need to be fenced to protect the bats and to keep from alarming people unaccustomed to large numbers of bats, but outdoor bars near the area, especially on the north side of the river, would likely be packed with people enjoying the wonder. The bat colony might eventually number as many as five to seven million animals. These summer roosts are maternity colonies where females raise a single pup per year, and the mature bats consume flying insects with a voracious appetite; sometimes up to a third of their body weight per night. They forage far and wide, and as a by-product of their feeding habits are also important pollinators of various crops including tree fruits. The former subway station in the City Center complex could be fitted with special lighting and glass and used as a bat colony observatory for the public, a very rare installation that could be used as a unique teaching laboratory for biology and animal behavior. Additionally, there are several bat biologists in residence at UTA who might be interested in using such a facility for serious research involving bat colonies. I would be happy to provide your office with contacts and references who could help you to gather information to help you decide if this sort of idea is something you feel would be worth pursuing.
Cheers and happy, creative thinking
RD Milhollin
Cowtown Grotto caving club, affiliated with the National Speleological Society
