NORTHEAST TALLAHASSEE, FL — Neighbors near the Evelyn W. Randolph Nature Preserve in Northeast Tallahassee are hoping the city will move forward with a project to manage overgrowth and invasive vegetation that have taken over the area.
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The City of Tallahassee is weighing the project, which would use machinery to control vegetation in accessible, open areas of the park without tree cover, according to a letter sent to Betton Hills neighbors.
Kent Strauss has lived across from the preserve for 20 years.
"It is a beautiful piece of property, and we're pleased to have it," Strauss said.
But in recent years, invasive plants have become a growing nuisance.
"It's gotten to the point to where the undergrowth has gotten so thick that it's harboring some wildlife that we find to be kind of dangerous for the neighborhood, for its pets," Strauss said.
Eliza Hawkins, a member of the City Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, says she has been pushing for a cleanup for a decade.
"I feel like it's in my one house, you know, but when others started complaining, you know, I thought, ‘Hmm, I'll push a little harder on this,' and it is a mess. It's worse since all those storms hit," Hawkins said.
Hawkins says severe weather destroyed trees in the area, making it more of a breeding ground for invasive species like skunk vine.
"The canopy used to keep the wild, you know, skunk vine growth and other, used to keep that at bay," Hawkins said.
Strauss believes a removal effort could enhance the entire neighborhood.
"If they would do an initial cleanup of the undergrowth and get that out, that would allow new trees to come up," Strauss said.
Hawkins also sees the project as an opportunity to educate the neighborhood about the broader risks of invasive plants.
"If some of these noxious weeds get into our main line parks, you know, our big parks, I mean, you know, they'll overtake the native stuff, which may have very adverse consequences to the wildlife," Hawkins said.
Feedback collection for the project is extended through May 22nd.
If the project moves forward, crews could be out at the preserve once a year or as needed to keep invasive species under control.
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