Nueces County is expanding Packery Channel Nature Park with a $3.4 million project that extends the existing boardwalk to the coast — and it won't cost local taxpayers a dime. The project is entirely grant-funded.
The expansion will bring 1,069 native plants and trees to the area surrounding the boardwalk, along with five shade pavilions and six information kiosks featuring guides to birds that can be spotted along the trail. Similar kiosks are already in place along the existing boardwalk.
Project Manager Cody Stoll said the plantings will also include temporary above-ground irrigation for one year to help the new vegetation take root.
"So the idea is we're gonna bring in 1,069 native plants and trees and temporary irrigation for 1 year above ground so we don't have to dig it back up and that's just to help the root structures get developed and solidified before we remove it and yeah it's gonna help beautify the area strengthen the ground," Stoll said.
Packery Channel is a noted stop on the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail, and the expansion is designed to give more visitors access to that experience.
Paul Thomas Brown, who has owned property near the park since 2015, said he welcomes the increased access.
"Giving people more access to the birding down here is fantastic. The birding with this pond with the Audubon stuff is fantastic, but you see a lot more of the smaller birds over in that area, so giving people more access to that, I think would be really nice," Brown said.
Brown said the current boardwalk has been popular but limited in what it offers visitors.
"I'm excited they're doing something with the rest of the park. The original boardwalk pretty limited in terms of access to it, so I'm glad they're doing things with it," Brown said.
Construction is already underway, with crews adding onto the boardwalk and planting foliage. Stoll said the county is targeting a completion date between August and September, depending on weather.
"We're shooting for a completion date of August to September depending on weather, so we would just ask to be vigilant of the construction area until then and then once we have the opening, come out and enjoy it," Stoll said.
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