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Friends of the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge

Three Sisters getting decked out

Photo by Dave Sigler
Chris Lea and Kevin Riales, from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Grenada, Miss., help construct a boardwalk around Three Sisters Springs in Crystal River. The boardwalk will provide a scenic viewing area for the park while keeping people from entering the spring from the property.

Construction won't be completed for another two years

CRYSTAL RIVER — Future visitors to Three Sisters Springs won't need boats to get a good look at the water and the manatees that winter there.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is building a 500-foot boardwalk around the springs and along the canal on the Three Sisters property off King's Bay Drive.

Workers are expected to finish building the boardwalk early this month, according to Michael Lusk, refuge manager of the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which manages the property.

"It gives people a great view of the springs. It's elevated about 3 feet off the ground, so the view is really spectacular," he said. The boardwalk winds around the trees that line the springs except where there are natural breaks in the tree line. In those areas, there are viewing platforms where visitors will be able to see manatees. Workers have not cut down any trees for the sake of the boardwalk project, although some non-native, invasive Brazilian pepper trees have been removed.

The city of Crystal River and the Southwest Florida Water Management District purchased the Three Sisters property last year, but it isn't expected to open to the public for another two years. Lusk is planning an open house once the boardwalk is finished.

"I definitely want to give the public an idea of what we're doing and a chance to see it for themselves," he said.

Some residents have been frustrated because the property isn't yet open to the public. Before it can open, the water management district must construct water retention areas on the Three Sisters Springs property as a much-needed filter for the runoff from nearby areas.

"The wetlands are being constructed (for) the runoff of the shopping centers. It will trap the water, oil, grease and sediment. It should help the water quality tremendously," Lusk said.

Construction of a new entrance leading to the springs is also necessary for the property to open to the public. Currently, the property's entrance is on King's Bay Drive, which cannot accommodate increased traffic to the springs.

"We agreed we would not have a road off King's Bay Drive, so what we have to do is build a road off Cutler Spur (Boulevard) so it takes the traffic out of that neighborhood," he said.

"I understand people are frustrated and have to wait two years, but we can't do anything about that. We're just not ready yet."

Eventually, the property will also have a parking area and an educational center. Lusk said the money to pay for them will have to come from fundraising.

"We're doing the best we can with the limited resources we have. We're still going to have to raise money," he said. "All that can be very expensive."

The USFWS saved money on boardwalk construction by having employees from the agency build it. The boardwalk is costing the agency about $80,000 compared to the roughly $200,000 it would have cost through a private contractor, Lusk said.

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