Heard museum will let nature take its course

Sanctuary plans to turn McKinney golf club into grassland for refuge
 

12:27 AM CDT on Thursday, April 14, 2005

By PAUL MEYER / The Dallas Morning News

McKINNEY – Few things can provoke an environmentalist's ire quite like a golf course ambushing natural habitats with Bermuda grass, artificial ponds and sand traps.

But in Collin County, nature enthusiasts may soon curtail the rising tide of fairways and greens by returning one of the area's oldest golfing spots to a natural state of prairie grass and native flora.

Officials with the Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary say they could sign a contract as early as Friday to buy the landmark McKinney Country Club and golf course for an undisclosed sum.

The purchase would add about 63 acres to Heard's 289-acre outdoor preserve in one of the nation's fastest-growing cities.

"I think we're going to be one of the first" to restore a golf course to its natural state, said John Ernst, executive director of the Heard museum and sanctuary. "Sometimes they have golf courses that they can't maintain and they just go to seed. This one we'll be able to take back to its natural state as much as we can."

Country club officials said Wednesday that a final agreement could come next week, marking the end of the club established in the 1920s.

The Heard museum has long made a mark as a place where visitors can interact with ecosystems, and birds, insects and animals that have found refuge in the suburbs.

Mr. Ernst said the sanctuary had been bidding against developers for the club and golf course. Upon signing a contract, the museum will kick off the largest capital campaign in its history to raise money for the expansion.

A goal of $5 million has been set to pay for the land, the restoration and the maintenance. Heard museum will have 90 days from signing the contract to study the property and secure funding.

"If they put 120 houses on that land, it would have a major impact on our sanctuary and wetlands," said Cindy Johnson, chairwoman of the museum's board of directors.

"It's a beautiful piece of land. It will be even more beautiful in its natural state," she said.

Bud Melton, a Dallas environmentalist who works with Sierra Club on issues of sprawl, said the move highlights a shift in thinking toward open space in recent years.

"Generally I would say if you look at what is happening with regard to sprawl and quality of life, you'll find people are really looking for some kind of change," he said.

"If anything, I'd say it reflects the shift in attitude from people wanting to have a golf course near their subdivision to wanting to have open space," he said.

Heard museum officials say the golf course acquisition may not be their last expansion in coming years. They plan to announce a $15 million capital campaign, including the $5 million for the golf course, to look at all the properties contiguous to the sanctuary.

The museum opened in 1967 to house the late Bessie Heard's collection of butterflies, nature prints and seashells and to preserve a piece of North Texas from development.

As for the golf course, detailed development plans are already in the works – including native plants, fishing ponds, walking trails and an amphitheatre.

"For a golf course reverting back to the natural state, I have not heard of one. We have the opportunity to be the first and set the paradigm," said Ron Dumke, a Heard board member and director of McKinney's parks department.

"Returning the golf course to a natural state obviously complements what the Heard has done over the years."

E-mail pmeyer@dallasnews.com