The heavy equipment that’s been occasionally hacking away at the banks of Simpson Creek in areas directly around City Park and beyond have nothing to do with a new project being done by the city. In fact, it’s much simpler than that.

 

“We decided to go along Simpson Creek, particularly in the areas along the walking trails and the City Park athletic fields, and clean up the banks and make Simpson Creek more visible,” said Bridgeport Parks and Recreation Director Don Burton. “It’s pretty picturesque along there and a lot of people aren’t aware that there is plenty of wildlife there.”

 

For those that think Burton is trying to pump up the creek’s attractiveness, he’s not. On days when the water is clear, you can often spot varying sizes of fish. Deer are frequent visitors along the banks and often in the water.

 

“We’ve seen plenty of turkeys down there as well,” Burton said.

 

While the clearing of the banks may seem like something that should be done as standard operation, it’s the type of clearing that’s being done. For years, Parks and Recreation staff has taken weed eaters down to the banks to clear things out. What the city began doing more than a week ago and are continuing to do likely into next week, Burton said, involves more heavy duty removal of growth from the banks.

 

“We’re really cutting it back this time and we’re using equipment to do it there that we’ve not used there before,” Burton said. “We’re using a Ford tractor with a brush hog arm to go in and clear it out where things are now visible back to the bank.”

 

The brush hog arm isn’t a new piece of equipment. However, it’s generally been used to clearing rights of way along busy roadways – including parts of U.S. Route 50 through Bridgeport – and other locations where brush proves to be extremely thick.

 

“This is an ongoing process,” said Burton. “It’s likely going to be a few more weeks and when our workers are finished they will have cleared an area around the trails and City Parks that covers roughly a quarter of a mile or more. We think it will be worth your time to take a look and take a chance at seeing some wildlife in a really nice setting.”

 

Burton said staff is also looking at when to do it again. He said if it’s not done annually, Parks and Recreation will do the major clearing every other year.

 

Editor's Note: Pictured above is part of the work currently taking place, while P&R Director Don Burton is shown below.