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Home > Desert Oracle Radio > Repairs begin on Big Morongo Canyon Preserve’s boardwalk, estimated completion in mid-February
Podcast: Desert Oracle Radio
Episode:

Repairs begin on Big Morongo Canyon Preserve’s boardwalk, estimated completion in mid-February
Category: Society & Culture
Duration: 00:00:00
Publish Date: 2026-01-20 16:20:28
Description:

Good news for those who have been waiting the last two-and-a-half years for the boardwalk at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve to reopen: repairs are finally underway with a hopeful finish date in mid-February.

Since Tropical Storm Hilary damaged the Preserve in August of 2023, the boardwalks have remained in disrepair primarily around the water bridges. Because there are two waterways in the Preserve’s riparian ecosystem (lush transitional zone between land and water), those areas must be protected by the Army Corps of Engineers and The California State Water Board. Combined with additional environmental assessments, Preserve Director Kevin Wong said those permitting issues took longer than anticipated, along with the County deciding where they were going to get the funds from.

“The biggest delay was the county deciding where they’re gonna get the money from. They decided not to take it out of the annual budget because it was obviously not going to happen within that year, so then they decided to take it out of capital reserves. The other process was the planning department coming up with a true plan. There are four areas that they are going to work on, and they started working on two of those areas––right now they got the boardwalks pulled out and strengthened the rest of the boardwalk so they can attach the components.”

Work on the boardwalk started on Monday, January 5, and Wong says they are racing to get it finished to make way for one of their fine-feathered annual VIP visitors:

“The Least Bell’s Vireo is a federally endangered bird that nests alongside the boardwalk, and they can’t do any work that might disturb their nesting. Its nesting season is from mid-February to mid-September so with any luck they’ll finish this within a month provided there are no weather issues in which case we can open back up the boardwalk for normal use.”

Wong says the boardwalk repairs are the first phase of a two-part improvement project to the Preserve, followed by a full repaving of the parking lot and driveway handled by the San Bernardino Department of Public Works. While he says the Preserve’s parking lot and driveway will be closed for the 4–5-day job, visitors are still welcomed to walk over after parking at Covington Park. 

The Big Morongo Canyon Preserve is open daily from 7:30 a.m. to sunset. You can learn more about their unique ecosystem at their website: bigmorongo.org

The post Repairs begin on Big Morongo Canyon Preserve’s boardwalk, estimated completion in mid-February appeared first on Z107.7 FM Joshua Tree.
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