Forget North Face jackets and Nalgene bottles a considerable number of people on the Indian Creek Wildlife Observation Trail are visiting the park equipped with just their birthday suits.
Due to reoccurring complaints of nudity and sexual activity" the U.S. Corps of Engineers will close the trail near Jordan Dam.
""We've had problems with the general public being harassed and" you know advanced sexual acts" Chris Dawes, a wildlife biologist supervisor for N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, said.
It's not a family friendly atmosphere anymore.""
Dawes said this type of activity has been increasing for years and undercover officers have written more than 30 citations at the site.
The closed trail lead to the old Indian Creek Bald Eagle observation platform. The closing will affect a variety of people" including the members of the New Hope Audubon Society" who used the path monthly for bird watching trips.
""So many people use it" and we maintained it for the public to come out" said Judy Murray, NHAS member in charge of the Jordan Lake Wildlife observation site.
Other parks and recreation centers are struggling with some of the same dilemmas.
Sexual activity, along with drug use, is not uncommon in local parks and trails, Lori Taft, management director for Orange County Recreation and Parks, said.
We do have sexual activity occurring from time to time in our parks" but we haven't had to close any facilities for inappropriate social activity" Taft said.
Once in a while we'll find a syringe or a condom but we're trying ... to prevent those things from coming and part of that is outreach to teens or young adults with programming.""
Chapel Hill Parks and Recreations Director Butch Kisiah Jr. also said drugs can be a problem.
""Once the word gets out that that kind of activity can go on without consequences" there are folks that will go out and do that kind of stuff" Kisiah said.
The NHAS built and maintained the original platform. There is no specified date for when the trail will reopen but the Audubon Society is looking for new possible sites around the lake to rebuild the observation platform.
Murray said that the closing of the trail came at an inconvenient time.Efforts to replace a destroyed observation platform had just begun, she said.
We're not too happy because the platform this year was destroyed by a storm" and we went down there and hauled out all the old lumber Murray said.
We were also in the process of applying for grants to REI and Lowe's" and we were going to order lumber and start rebuilding.""
Murray said the group will miss bird-watching along the observation trail.
""The site was a great place to go"" she said. It had a good number of birds and an eagle nest right across the lake that we used to monitor.""
The Indian Creek Wildlife Observation Trail is located on N.C. 751 in Chatham County.
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