How should Millbrook Marsh’s boardwalk be replaced? Community input sought
The Millbrook Marsh Nature Center plans to replace its boardwalk after studies showed small repairs are no longer enough to support the expansive structure, and they’re looking for community voices to guide its direction.
Melissa Kauffman, Centre Region Parks & Recreation’s Assistant Director, said they are looking for ideas on the project’s design and construction feasibility from the community.
“We’re in the planning stages of trying to figure out what’s next for the boardwalk, what it could look like, what materials might be used and how it would be built,” she said.
The planning stage includes a community input survey that will remain open through May 22. Their focus is to understand how people utilize the boardwalk, what it means to them and what they should consider in its future design, Kauffman explained.
The 24-year-old boardwalk is located in a flood-prone area and has endured repeated flooding, downed trees, severe weather and related erosion over the years that impacted its foundational stability.
The current boardwalk was built between 2002 and 2004 by Centre Region Parks & Recreation staff and Pennsylvania Conservation Corps volunteers using pressure-treated wood designed to last 15 to 20 years.
The center conducted two feasibility studies between 2021 and 2023 that found the boardwalk in critical condition due to the underlying conditions that continue to shift the structure, Kauffman notes.
Nature Center Supervisor Susan Crandall Hart said the pillars supporting the boardwalk have eroded and become unstable over time. Although the center has repaired several sections and addressed other structural issues, she said the boardwalk now requires a full rebuild with more durable materials than the current wood construction to ensure its long-term stability.
“It’s not as easy unfortunately as just putting a new pillar,” she said. “If you repair certain parts it will affect other parts because it is all connected,” Hart said.
Visitors on the boardwalk can notice sunken areas and two closed sections leading to Thompson Bridge and Bird Blind, closing a large loop around the park.
In 2024, the U.S. The Fish and Wildlife Service and the local Spring Creek chapter of Trout Unlimited began a stream bank stabilization project to mitigate flooding and erosion issues. The project is expected to be completed this year, clearing the way for the boardwalk replacement to move forward.
Hart said the center is considering making the new boardwalk ADA accessible, as the current structure is too narrow to meet accessibility standards.
Millbrook Marsh’s 62-acre site includes a 12-acre farmstead area and an adjacent 50-acre wetland area that supports a diverse range of wildlife, with more than 50 bird species visible during the early morning hours, alongside frogs, muskrats, turtles, beavers, and deer that depend on the habitat, Hart said.
“It’s important to take care of water here because it influences other parts,” she explained, adding how the park’s wetlands connect to the Spring Creek watershed, the Susquehanna River, and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay. “The balance is public access with protection of our natural resources.”
The park is owned by Penn State and has been leased to Centre Region Parks & Recreation since 1997. A Conservation Easement between Penn State and ClearWater Conservancy protects the wetland from future development.
The center also includes an Education Building that expanded in 2024, a restored bank barn, a picnic pavilion, a Pollinator Garden, two sun shelters and walking trails.
Kauffman said they plan to launch a capital campaign once the project scope is set, and will be asking the community for donations and other forms of support.
Community members interested in submitting input with ideas and recommendations on the new boardwalk’s design and direction can visit the survey online. Donations can be made at the center’s website page titled “Boardwalk Replacement.”
