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The sound of insects fills the otherwise calm scene at Turkey Creek Preserve. Wide grassy trails make up the majority of the reserve, but others are roped off – their trails are slippery with mud and filled with debris.
Cliff Gionet, a 73-year-old Gainesville resident, completed his hike through Turkey Creek despite the heat and closed trails. He’s a frequent visitor who enjoys walking and biking along the trails, and while some closures haven’t affected his personal hobbies, he laments the constant summer rain.
After Hurricane Elsa in July, Alachua County retains in the face of flood damage including uprooted trees and debris on some trails. Portions of Barr hammock reserve and Turkey Creek Preserve remain closed due to unsafe conditions. Heavy rains throughout the summer created problems for reserves and parks like San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park. In July alone, Gainesville received 13.99 inches of rain, which is 7 inches above average, according to the National climate report.
“I would say it’s probably the worst year I can remember, and we’ve been here for a long time,” said Gionet.
Ryan Kennelly, senior environmental specialist for Alachua County, said he was surprised by the flooding in Turkey Creek. Since reopening to the public in March, it became one of the most visited reserves, Kennelly said.
The reserve, located at 6300 NW 93rd Ave., is generally one of the driest, he said. Some parts are made up of wetlands, but the vast majority are upland habitats. After more than a month of unusually heavy rains, he said generally dry areas were seeing water flowing through them.
Erosion problems already existed on the sloping sections of the trails and staff began working with contractors to repair these roads, Kennelly said.
“Elsa hit and kind of elevated all the work that we had to do beyond what we already expected to have to do,” he said.
Kennelly believes the flooding was due to a combination of abnormal local regional weather conditions along with the hilly topography and sinkhole characteristics at Turkey Creek.
“You know the water likes to come down slopes and when it does it can kind of scrub the trail,” he said.
One of the large sinkholes on the reserve and the trail next to it filled with a huge amount of water when in the spring it was completely dry, Kennelly said. Due to the high water table, the sinkhole could not drain.
During Hurricane Irma, Turkey Creek experienced similar flood levels, he said. Turkey Creek staff view the flooding as a natural disturbance that is part of the system in flood-prone areas, but expect policies to become more extreme if abnormal heavy rain seasons continue.
“From my observations and observations that we’ve seen on other reserves… we’re seeing a greater impact with climate change,” Kennelly said. “Exactly how this will play out in the future is probably still unknown, but what we have seen is an increase in the frequency of these extreme events.”
If heavy rains continue to occur for short periods of time and all at once, Kennelly said, he expects more damage.
Although the rain hasn’t completely stopped frequent hikers from visiting their favorite parks and reserves.
Gainesville residents Ellen and Jeff Bowser tend to avoid visiting Alachua County trails when wet. While they didn’t see many trail closures, they did notice that trails on reserves like Four Creeks Preserve Loop and Blues Creek, off Millhopper Road, become impassable due to flooding after storms.
“We love these trails and it would be worrying if we couldn’t get out,” Ellen said.
San Felasco Hammock Preservation Park, located in Alachua, put in place warnings for trails that were inaccessible due to fallen debris or standing water after Hurricane Elsa, said Jim Pollard, president of the San Felasco Citizen Support Organization. This non-profit organization supports and maintains the park through membership and volunteer groups on a monthly basis.
“We had over 12 inches of rain in a week before the hurricane, so we had a lot of standing water,” Pollard said. “It was just the icing on the cake.”
He said trail conditions were similar to post-hurricane conditions in 2004 and 2005, when there were many areas with heavy wind damage.
“But at the moment, I can say that the level of standing water is higher than what we’ve seen in the past 20 years,” Pollard said.
He said climate change was not the only one to blame for the unusually heavy rains suffered by Alachua County this summer. He explained that climate change does not mean just one thing, like increased rains, but rather means significant changes in weather and unpredictable and severe weather conditions.
Pollard said he was most concerned about rising temperatures, which is affecting animals and other wildlife in San Felasco State Park. After working in the park for more than 20 years, Pollard said he noticed subtle changes that could be attributed to an increase in temperature, such as migrating birds and flowering plants appearing at different times than in previous years.
However, he does not expect any future limiting issues for cyclists or hikers in the park. As the hurricane season progresses, and with it the risk of another storm developing, Pollard said he would expect to see more trails made inaccessible due to the wet ground. Trees like laurel oaks and aquatic oaks are also at risk of falling when wet, which could also interfere with trails.
If this damage occurs, he said it would be the job of his team of volunteers to go and cut and remove these trees to clear the trails. Volunteers meet on the second Saturday of each month and constantly welcome new people. Pollard said volunteering is key to tackling erosion and keeping the park at its best.
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