Cyclist riding near White Rock Lake. Photography by Danny Fulgencio.
Winter weather has caused Oncor to postpone necessary vegetation pruning near the southwest corner of White Rock Lake Park.
Oncor had planned to conduct pruning this week around the Old Fish Hatchery, where the utility provider clear-cut acres of vegetation in 2020 without notifying the City of Dallas. The pruning will ensure safety and service reliability, Oncor says.
Four trees at Lakewood Park and eight or nine trees near the intersection of the Santa Fe Trail and Lakewood Boulevard will be pruned.
Trees near the Old Fish Hatchery are also intended to be trimmed, including those left for shielding on W. Lawther Drive and Winsted Drive near the walking trail. These have grown too close to power lines, Oncor says, and pruning will remove new growth but keep the shielding.
No trees will be removed, according to Oncor, and trimming will be limited to 6-8 feet of new growth.
Click here to see a map of the locations to be pruned. As of publication, Oncor has not announced the rescheduled date but says work should take one or two days to complete.
Planting and maintenance of grasses, shrubs and other vegetation in this area, under high-voltage transmission lines along Oncor’s right-of-way, has been a joint effort of Oncor, Texas Discovery Gardens and the Old Fish Hatchery at White Rock Lake Advisory Committee.
The Old Fish Hatchery at White Rock Lake Advisory Committee was established in October 2020, after Oncor clear-cut acres of the Old Fish Hatchery Nature Area without notifying the city. Original members of the committee, created by District 9 City Council member Paula Blackmon, included District 9 Park Board member Maria Hasbany, Brent Brown, Ben Sandifer, David Hurt, Kathryn Bazan, Kelly Cotton, Charles Elk, Ted Ellis, Garrett Boone, Sandy Greyson, Collin Koonce, Jill Kotvis and Ted Barker.
Planting, seeding, hay placement and erosion-control efforts happened in 2021, and additional planting and other maintenance will continue throughout 2023 to ensure the area’s long-term growth, according to Oncor.
New informational signs to explain the area, its history and the groups that oversee it will be installed at the Old Fish Hatchery. Oncor donated $20,000 in 2021 to the Friends of the Old Fish Hatchery to fund the project.
