BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Erie County Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry announced the Times Beach Nature Preserve is closed due to damage from a wind storm that occurred the weekend of December 11.
The county said this is the latest of several weather-related closures of the Times Beach Nature Preserve due to seiche events since a storm in October 2019.
According to the county, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently approved two projects that will aid in the removal of debris and replacement of some of the Preserve’s boardwalk which has been destroyed.
In addition, a $500,000 grant from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) State Municipal Facilities Program will be applied to a Coastal Resiliency Study being prepared to better protect the site from future seiche damage.
The Times Beach Nature Preserve is a beautiful but fragile ecosystem and is highly vulnerable to bad weather, due to its location. The site has taken a beating over the past few years from wind and waves every time we have severe weather and has been either partly or fully closed at various times during that span. For safety reasons we will now be closing Times Beach until further notice. In the spring our Department plans to work with the Friends of Times Beach to explore clean ups that could result in certain trails within Times Beach being opened to the public once again. I also want to thank NYS Senator Ryan for helping to secure this grant funding, which will be critical to protecting times beach in the future.
