Bethany Beach Nature Center’s Baldwin Nature Trail undergoing repairs

Staff Reporter

This story was updated on June 5 to reflect the construction and opening of a temporary ramp to restore access to the nature trail.

The Baldwin Nature Trail was partially reopened this weekend after temporary repairs were made to portions of the boardwalk that have been failing.

The Baldwin Nature Trail at the Bethany Beach Nature Center partially re-opened over the weekend, following a week of construction and trail expansion. The Town is providing some crushed gravel stone in between the boardwalk walkways to replace stone or widen the observation trail overlooking the inland bays, and as of the weekend, boardwalk deck boards were also being replaced.

The Baldwin Trail at Bethany Beach Nature Center was temporarily closed while undergoing repairs.

In the process of delivering or moving the crushed stone, one of the boardwalk steps that leads to the longer boardwalk trail into the marsh was damaged. While it's only 6 to 9 inches above the ground, the step is broken, and the nature center temporary cut off pedestrian access before installing a temporary ramp to restore that access while maintenance is under way by Bethany public works employees and boardwalk contractors.

Boards on the Baldwin Nature Trail's observation deck have been replaced since the trail was briefly closed to pedestrians due to a damaged step.

"A portion of the existing pathway has reached the point where some boards and substructure had to be replaced," said Mayor Rosemary Hardiman. "I believe the boardwalk is about 20 years old. It's not really being expanded, just maintained."

The Town of Bethany Beach's public works department was overseeing delivery of a trailerload of new boards and additional substructure wooden beams on Wednesday afternoon, May 31. The Public Works team confirmed that one of the steps was hit by a piece of equipment but said that the boards may have been loose anyway. One team member said that additional boards were loose in January, and needed to be repaired and replaced before the spring season.

The Baldwin Nature Trail at the Bethany Beach Nature Center is dedicated to Calvin Baldwin, who was behind the efforts to have the Town acquire the wetlands property and build a nature center there.

Birdwatchers were able to enjoy the Bethany Beach Nature Center over Memorial Day weekend with some displays from the seasonally resident osprey. There are 12 birds (six pairs) in final nesting there, with their newly hatched or soon-to-be-hatched fledgling offspring on four active nests. The Bethany Beach Nature Center and the inland bays are a breeding ground for the raptors, which display mating behaviors during nesting. The fledglings are expected to begin flying at any time, so the repair work comes at a difficult time for birdwatchers and nature photographers.

The Baldwin Trail at Bethany Beach Nature Center was temporarily closed while undergoing repairs.

"We expect the birds to hatch in late May or early June," DNREC and Delaware State Parks officials said.

On May 20, the Sussex Bird Club came to Bethany Beach Nature Center for a planned bird walk, before the steps collapsed.

A trailer full of lumber sits at the Bethany Beach Nature Center. The boards and wood will be used to repair the wooden boardwalk on the Baldwin Trail.

"We are a hidden gem for Bethany Beach and all our guests," said Nancy Lucy, the Nature Center manager, during a recent Earth Day weekend event.

Bethany Beach Nature Center is open four days a week, Wednesday through Saturday, from June 1 through the summer.

Staff Reporter

Mike has bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from Northwestern and is a 25-year member of the National Press Club. He has won four national writing awards for editorial work. He is a native of McLean, Va., and lives in Millville.

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