The first Cedar Ridge Preserve (7171 Mountain Creek Pkwy, Dallas, TX 75249) will host a series of surveys starting Monday June 2, and then every following Monday through mid-July. Contact Charles_M_Hess@ymail.com if you are interested in being on a survey. The preserve is closed on Mondays, so your name must be on his list to have access. The preserve staff lets listees in the front gate between 7:30 and 8:00AM. Plenty of parking is available since the park is closed. Signees will get calls if survey days are rescheduled due to weather.
The survey lasts 3 to 4 hours. Usually, about 15-20 people show up who are then divided into two or three teams for the day. Teams are organized at 8 AM at the park benches in front of the building. Restrooms and a drinking fountain are at the preserve center. Good hiking shoes and long pants are recommended and a light t-shirt as it gets warm. Sunglasses are not needed as the trails are shady. Some parts of the trail are uneven with several patches of limestone to step over. Walking sticks are handy, as well as fanny packs for snacks and water bottles.
You will meet members of the North Texas Master Naturalists who provide most surveyors, as well as BRIT (Botanical Research Institute of Texas) staff members. One will be a Summer Intern sponsored by GNTOS through SWROGA fundraising.
If people just want to go on their own on days other than Mondays, the orchids can be seen by looking for yellow flags, usually seen within 20 yards of the trails. Maps for the trail locations of orchid areas will be available at our GNTOS meetings. Later in the season, the plants will start blooming as the spikes get taller. Parking during open hours is at a premium and expands along the roadside inside the park.
