The first phase of this planning effort was held on April 25, 2005, focusing on a regional workshop involving 10 of the 16 counties. The Northwest Subregional Workshop was the fourth and last of the subregional workshops. The Arlington Field Office attended three of the workshops. It focused on the northern portions of Tarrant and Parker Counties, most of Denton County, and all of Wise County. The participants represented state, county and city government agencies, industry, and private organizations, including, but not exclusively, the Cities of Fort Worth, Arlington, Denton, and other smaller cities; Tarrant Regional Water District; Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; The Trust for Public Land; League of Women Voters; Fort Worth Parks and Recreation, and a variety of homeowner and builder’s associations, companies and contractors. Participants discussed human population and development growth trends, projections, and impacts; economic and natural resources goals and objectives; and how to manage for them within the next 30 years.

The Northwestern Subregion includes several important natural resources, such as a large portion the Trinity River floodplain containing bottomland hardwood forests; the most northern section of the Balcones Escarpment containing endangered golden-cheeked warbler and black capped vireo habitat; and remnants of the diminishing Fort Worth Prairie, such as the LBJ National Grasslands. The Arlington Field Office will continue participation in this regional planning effort.