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Rosyfinch on
URL: http://bald-eagles-of-broward-county-florida.17.s1.nabble.com/Bald-Eagle-Sanctuary-Steering-Commitee-members-raise-concerns-about-safety-of-nest-observers-tp3337385p3359132.html
Hi, Mike-- your note gets me thinking (can you smell the wood burning?)
If feasible, a viewing area to the south or west, especially if raised, could be ideal. And you are right about the need for careful study and review of any plans, not to mention the need to obtain funding sources. The Steering Committee will work to specify the needs and explore funding sources, but only after a site plan is developed and all clearances are obtained.
The woods to the south of the nest are more open, but a southerly vantage point might not give the best view of the present nest site, as the nest tree itself may have more large nest support branches on that side, obstructing the view.
The nest is more visible from the west (especially the northwest, from the shoulder of the road), but disturbance should not be created inside the 330 foot prohibited zone. It is not likely that FDOT, which owns the shoulder of the road up to the temporary chain link fence, would permit construction of a platform or tower. There may not be enough City property on the west side to create a buffer, and the woods are rather dense. When we were searching for Hope, we could see the nest very well from the dead melaleucas, about 300-400 feet almost directly to the west, but we were on South Florida Water Management District (WMD) land. An elevated platform at the very edge of City land would provide a great vantage point.
I believe that WMD killed the trees in an attempt to allow the area to return to its original "Everglades" state. The sawgrass is quite healthy there, among the skeletons of the melaleucas, and Brian Mealey noted the return of several native shrubs. It might not make sense to disturb that area, though anything is possible.
An alternative might be to create a path along the western-most edge of City property-- you can see from the aerial photographs that herbicides were used as much as 20-30 feet inside the City land, so that margin is already clear.
In my opinion, a vehicular road and parking lot would require expensive engineering and probably would be excessive in scope, environmentally and economically. However, the idea of a footpath leading to an observation area (contained by fencing and including a raised platform) might be worth considering. There may be several candidate locations for observation posts to the west and southwest, or even deeper to the south. A footpath would also be easier to control and secure than a roadway. It could be quite muddy until the winter dry season is established.
That leaves the issue of where to park, something that has to be worked out in the next few months before the crowds return (assuming the eagles do come back to the nest site). I wonder about these possible areas:
1. South shoulder of Pines Boulevard west of 209th Avenue and east of 208th. Not as high, broad and level as the area in front of the nest.
2. Cul-de-sac at 209th (could hold maybe 6-10 automobiles if striped). Not sure whether the City or FDOT would have jurisdiction here, but it appears to be on FDOT land.
3. The south extension of 208th Avenue is posted now, and may be too narrow to permit parking, but is there room on both the shoulders to create perpendicular or diagonal parking?
4. Along 209th, to the north towards the High School, with parking restricted to one side of the street only-- would this be wide enough to accommodate the high school traffic-- they are adding a new senior class this coming school year, so there will be many more cars. This option, and any other parking that might be allowed along the north side of Pines Boulevard would provide pedestrians with safe crossing at the traffic signals.
5. There is the outside chance that the School District might need to lease all or part of the cow pasture on the north side of Pines between 209th and the Post Office at 210th Avenue, but the present student parking lot (permit only) is not fully utilized. Will there be pressure for more parking when the new senior class arrives?
Does anyone have better ideas? Please join the discussion.
The present viewing areas are about 180-200 feet from the nest, in areas that are already disturbed. Keep in mind that the melaleucas grow very quickly, and a "good" view may quickly turn bad. Conversely, both the melaleucas and the Australian Pines are quite brittle, and may fall, opening up new vistas. Of course, the nest tree itself is vulnerable to a windstorm. Happily, FPL has expertise in establishing alternative nesting sites and may offer to erect a pole platform if this should occur.