Oakland preserve hoping to fix Irma-damaged boardwalk
Fixing the Oakland Nature Preserve’s boardwalk, battered by Hurricane Irma, will require $20,000 and a carpenter willing to brave alligators and snakes.
“Some contractors are a little leery of that,” the preserve’s managing director Jennifer Hunt said of the reptiles lurking in the marshy muck beneath the wetlands walkway.
Irma toppled trees that broke railings and planks, forcing the nature preserve’s directors to close the serpentine boardwalk which winds seven-tenths of a mile to a pavilion on the south side of Lake Apopka.
The preserve’s boardwalk was among dozens of trails in Central Florida damaged by the hurricane Sept. 11. While some remain closed more than three months later, other trails that were left impassable have reopened, partly because of the work of bicycle groups and other volunteers who helped clear the way.
On Dec. 9, the St. Johns River
Water Management District lifted bans on the use of a section of the crushed stone trail starting at the North Shore Trailhead on Lake County Road 448A.
The path, used by horseback riders, bicyclists and hikers, runs about 10 miles including the Clay Island Trailhead on Carolyn Lane in Astatula and the Green Mountain Scenic Overlook and Trailhead in Montverde.
While some adventurous bicyclists have tried to ride the loop trail from Magnolia Park on the lake’s east side, the district posted warnings against using that section of the trail because of high water levels that makes it inaccessible to emergency vehicles if an accident occurred.
The region’s recreational pathways sustained widespread damage from Irma, which packed 85-mph winds as it passed through the region.
Trees and branches rained down on the West Orange Trail, the Seminole-Wekiva Trail and the Cady Way Trail, forcing authorities in those jurisdictions to close some stretches of the recreational paths favored used by bicyclists, runners and walkers.
Levees broke on the north shore of Lake Apopka, flooding the Lake Apopka Trail Loop and the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, which remains closed.
Crews, which used more than 1,700 tons of dirt to plug the levee breeches, are working daily to reopen both popular trails, said Danielle Spears of St. Johns River Water Management District, the supervising agency. The district does not have a timetable for reopening.
A section of the West Orange Trail washed out behind Apopka Middle School during the storm. It remains closed.
No reconstruction plan has been drafted, but there have been talks between the county, which supervises the trail, and Orange County Public Schools, which owns the land, said Matt Suedmeyer, Orange County manager of Parks and Recreation.
The region’s public trails can be fixed with tax money, but the nonprofit Oakland Nature Preserve relies on volunteers and donations.
The boardwalk was built in 2002 by volunteers who labored in deep mud and thick undergrowth, where reptiles and stinging insects sometimes hide out.
Hunt said the preserve holds hurricane insurance which covers its 128-acre campus, including the boardwalk, but the policy includes a $20,000 deductible of $20,000.
She launched a campaign on the crowdfunding platform Go Fund Me hoping to raise money to pay the deductible, and the Bond Foundation of Winter Garden pledged to match donations up to $10,000 to help with repairs.
The effort had raised $2,200 as of Thursday.
“People call and email every day. But as you can see, it’s a safety issue,” Hunt said, motioning to a buckled section of boardwalk that was split open by a maple tree.
Still, some visitors have ignored “no trespassing” signs and hopped over orange netting closing the damaged sections. The boardwalk ends at a pavilion where visitors can see alligators floating in Mexican water lilies and hear the croaking of great blue herons.
Hunt touted other nature trails around the preserve that are open because of efforts by volunteers, including a Girl Scout troop.
“We’re happy to say the rest of the trails around the park are open for people to enjoy 365 days a year,” Hunt said.