New state park plan in place in Manatee

As Lake Manatee State Park Manager Joshua Herman makes his rounds, checking on the campgrounds and tending to other duties, he’s happy with what he sees.

But he knows it could be even better.

The park is in the process of updating its 10-year management plan. Although much of the plan addresses maintaining nature within the 150-acre park, it also includes more than $5 million worth of recommended improvements, such as a boardwalk to connect the western and eastern portions of the park, construction of an equipment shelter and shop building, additional picnic pavilions, improvements to campground restrooms and the relocation of a trailhead so it has its own parking area and restroom.

Funding for park improvements is competitive with 176 state parks typically competing for state funding, which varies by year. Herman said about 10 projects receive funding each year.

Even so, having the improvements incorporated into the 10-year plan is important.

“If it’s not in the plan, we can’t do it,” Herman said.

Lake Manatee State Park’s annual operating budget is about $71,000, excluding salaries. A few projects, such as installing primitive camp sites, can be done within that budget by park staff. The larger projects, however, will require special funding.

Herman is particularly interested in the Poley Branch Boardwalk/Bridge and Trail project, which would create more connectivity within the park itself. Poley Branch, a small creek, runs south from the lake itself to State Road 64, dividing the park in two. The eastern portion, used for its three miles of equestrian trails, must be accessed from State Road 64, apart from the park’s main entrance. Visitors to that eastern portion of the park must exit the park to access the restrooms on the western half of the park, for example.

“It’s not ideal,” Herman said.

Creation of a boardwalk would connect those two areas and allow visitors to Lake Manatee State Park to use all six miles of park trails by combining the three miles on the west with the three miles on the east.

Park camper and volunteer Len Hansen and his wife, Mary, said they love Lake Manatee State Park because its campsites offer more privacy and nature than at some others. During season, they volunteer at the park by helping with maintenance projects and serving as camp hosts for the campgrounds twice per week.

“I think it’s great,” Len Hansen said of the park improvement plan. “It’s good to have a plan. You can see how anything would help. (Campers) always have ideas and suggestions.”