Why Natural Open Space?

Natural Open Space benefits our community in numerous ways:

1. It provides important community space for people to enjoy

the benefits of the natural world.

2. The availability of natural open space helps to prevent nature

deficit disorder, a growing trend in this country where the
average American child spends 44 hours a week with electronic
media.

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, Richard Louv,
2008.
 Why Natural Open Space?
Effects of Nature Deficit Disorder include: Childhood obesity,
attention disorders and depression and long term ability to cope
with stress and adversity.

3. Natural Open space is important to the water cycle and nature’s

ability to produce oxygen and capture CO2.

4. Natural Open space provides habitat for thousands of species of

animals and plants native to our Chihuahuan Desert and a part of
our natural heritage.
 Meet some of our
neighbors that need
natural open space
Couch’s Spadefoot Toad
Red-spotted Toad

5
Texas Horned Lizard
Desert Box Turtle
8
Desert Mule Deer
Brazilian Free-tailed Bats

11
Texas Lubber Grasshopper

12
Red-winged Blackbirds
Pintail
14
Golden Eagle
Takota at the Zoo
Javelina
17
Pronghorn
18
 Each wild animal species
has special habitat needs

Protecting Natural Open Space requires

protecting wildlife corridors.
Habitat fragmentation breaks
up important wildlife corridors

Wildlife
Habitat
Wildlife
Habitat
 Wildlife Corridors
• Wildlife corridors are important to species
needing to move from one elevation to the
next so that they can find food and water and
potential mates to reproduce.
 Each wild animal species
has special habitat needs
Wildlife also need natural open space for
protection from the powerful rays of the sun,
wind and rain.

To adequately raise their young they need

space to protect their offspring from human
disturbance.
 We all need natural open space
• People need it. Animals and plants need it.
• And we are all connected to a complex web of life, an
ecosystem that provides everything we need.

• Each ecosystem provides unique services to the

environments in their area. Without a properly
functioning ecosystem, some environmental processes
necessary for the continuation of plant and animal life in
each ecosystem would be impossible. Without the services
that an ecosystem provides, it would be nearly impossible
for a life cycle to function.