Clay Bluffs Preserve won’t open any time soon

Ozaukee County officials were hoping that at least part of the Clay Bluffs Cedar Gorge Nature Preserve would be open to the public this year, but that will likely not happen for another year, maybe more.

“We’re moving right along with seeding and planting, construction of the main parking lot is starting and ground is being turned already and you’ll see more of that come spring,” County Planning and Parks Director Andrew Struck told members of the Natural Resources Committee recently.

“But there is no trail system. Work won’t begin on that until next fall, maybe even 2027,” he said.

It was perhaps too ambitious to hope part of the preserve, located on the Lake Michigan bluffs on Port Washington’s south side, would be at least partially open to the public, and the federal funding freeze in spring and the recent federal shutdown didn’t help.

“Complete development will take several years,” Struck said. “It’s a long process. We had the same process at Lion’s Den,” referring to Lion’s Den Gorge Nature Preserve in the Town of Grafton, just to the south of Clay Bluffs.

The preserve is being developed in three phases, from south to north, Struck said.

“We’ve secured all funding and match dollars for the southern third,” he said. “That work is starting now. We have the engineering and design work completed.”

Struck made his comments as the committee voted to accept yet another grant to develop Clay Bluffs, this one for $249,999  from the state Department of Natural Resources’ Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund to improve public access.

The new grant will help pay for a 65-foot-long bridge across Cedar Gorge and a stairway from the bluff to the lake shore, among other things, Struck said.

A one-to-one match is required, which will be provided through other grants, some of which have not yet been secured, Struck said.

“So before we take the money do we have to get those match allotments squared away ?” Supr. Bruce Ross asked.

“We have over $1 million retained. But in this case you probably wouldn’t spend any of the (Knowles-Nelson) money until the match funds are secured,” Struck said.

The county acquired the 134-acre preserve in 2022 in partnership with the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust, now known as Restoring Lands.

Multiple federal and state grants and contributions from local partners and private donors also were used to purchase the property. 

The new park is considered environmentally valuable. Public access to Lake Michigan and habitat restoration projects are part of the goals and requirements of several of the grants.

Even though the preserve is not open to the public, some people have already started walking into the park and wandering into adjacent private properties.

Struck said county staff is working to more clearly mark out the preserve’s boundaries, and those of the Lion’s Den and the nearby Ansay Family Preserve west of Highway C, to discourage people from wandering onto private property.

He added that the stairway from the bluff is likely to increase foot traffic on the beach below, especially as the proximity of the three preserves to each other and to the city’s south beach will create, in effect, a regional park expected to draw more visitors.