Two and a half years after the damage sustained by Tropical Storm Hilary, the staff at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve have announced all boardwalk trails are now re-opened after intensive repairs. Reporter Gabriel Hart spoke to Big Morongo Canyon Executive Director Kevin Wong about the long wait for repairs, the time constraints for migratory bird nesting, and what they will improve next.
On Wednesday, March 4, Director of San Bernardino Regional Parks Beahta Davis announced that Big Morongo Canyon’s Marsh Trail and Yucca Ridge Trail are now open for full loop hiking and strolling on their freshly repaired boardwalks. As reported in our previous story on their projections for completion, the trails were opened just in time for the nesting season for the federally endangered Least Bell’s Vireo bird, who take residence at the Preserve from mid-February to mid-September. Big Morongo Canyon Preserve Executive Director Kevin Wong explains what would have happened if they didn’t finish in time for the Preserve’s protected visitors who tend to nest a meter off the ground in the marsh and boardwalks.
“It’s a very wide time frame but they don’t know when the bird is going to come in and they don’t know when it’s going to leave. This project was just bumping right up against that February 15, a biologist was here regularly to monitor if there’s any birds that have arrived to nest and she found no evidence in the construction site, so the contractors could finish some last minute little projects that they needed to do. So they were very crunched for time. In case they did show up they would have to be put off all the way till the end of September. I just want to compliment the county for having both archaeology and biology experts here just to make sure that it would be a good job and it doesn’t affect cultural artifacts and or animals.”
Wong says migratory birds like the Least Bell’s Vireo only nest in the spring when they’re heading north, before returning to the south in the fall, so it’s a primary concern to help accommodate their small window. Besides daily visitors eager to return, Wong points out another group who will benefit from the return to full loop boardwalks and trails:
“Another group that’s very excited about that is our education docents because when we have school groups come, they want to do loops and not bump into each other going out and coming back. So they’re very excited that their programs will remain the same and we’re looking forward to having a lot of elementary school groups coming in both April and May. We get a huge influx at that time because they’re coming to the end of the school year.”…