The Anna Maria Island Sun Newspaper


Vol. 16 No. 16 - February 17, 2016

FEATURE

Preserve improvements coming

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

CINDY LANE | SUN

A walkway and lookout tower like these at
Neal Preserve are envisioned at Grassy Point Preserve
in Holmes Beach.

 

The Manatee County preserves that are part of the Palma Sola Bay ecosystem are slated to be further improved, the Palma Sola Scenic Highway Corridor Management Entity learned last week.

Neal Preserve

A new sidewalk is planned that will connect the sidewalk along the south side of Manatee Avenue at Neal Preserve with the sidewalk at the Manatee Avenue entrance to Robinson Preserve, Manatee County Commissioner John Chappie said. The design has been completed and the project has been funded by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for construction in the 2016-17 fiscal year.

Grassy Point Preserve

The City of Holmes Beach is seeking $200,000 from the Manatee County Tourist Development Council and other sources, plus another $50,000 from city funds to add to the city’s $200,000 budget to build a walkway from East Bay Drive to Grassy Point Preserve and add a lookout tower similar to the one across the Intracoastal Waterway from Neal Preserve, member Jerry West said.

The city’s parks and beautification committee plans to add educational materials, and possibly a trail guide, to the empty bulletin board at the preserve entrance, he said.

Robinson Preserve

The Winston tract at the south end of Robinson Preserve is slated to be leased to Manatee County by the Nature Conservancy if the organization approves the county’s plans for the land, said Mike Elswick, of the Manatee County Parks and Natural Resources Department, adding that the acquisition of the property will increase tidal flow in Palma Sola Bay.

The county also plans to purchase 40 acres to build a trail connector from Robinson Preserve to Perico Preserve, which is not yet open to the public.

Robinson may also receive RESTORE Act funds from the 2010 BP oil spill lawsuit, member Mark Alderson said.

Perico Preserve

Trails have been completed at Perico Preserve, and another trail is in the works that will connect Perico to Robinson Preserve, Elswick said.

Fencing, tables and benches are expected to be installed this week, boardwalks will be built over Perico Bayou, and vegetation will be planted to keep people from seeing into the windows of homes bordering the preserve, he said.

Long-lasting platforms for bird nests will be constructed in the next few months when a grant is obtained, he said, adding that wood platforms have too short of a life span.

Ungarelli Preserve

Improvements will make Ungarelli Preserve’s uplands ADA-accessible, he said.

In other business:

• A Sarasota Bay Estuary Program 2016 Partner Grant Proposal will be submitted next month to fund removal of invasive plants and protect native plants with wooden bollards on the Palma Sola Scenic Highway, and improve deteriorating water access points at the northeast shoreline of the Perico Island bridge and at the east end of both sides of the Manatee Avenue bridge to the Island, according to Ingrid McClellan, of Keep Manatee Beautiful.

• An application is being prepared to ask FDOT to extend the scenic highway designation to include East Bay Drive and Gulf Drive to the Bradenton Beach city limit.

• On Saturday, March 5, the FPL Power to Care Event is scheduled from 8 a.m. to noon at Palma Sola Park and Palma Sola Scenic Highway to raise the canopies of trees along Manatee Avenue and install supports for trees.


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