County grapples with bluff accidents

Ozaukee County officials are looking at installing new or improved signage at Lions Den Gorge Nature Preserve in the Town of Grafton following several incidents in the past year in which people went over the bluff edge, often having to be rescued by first responders.

“I’m not opposed to putting out more signage, but it is already well-signed. We’ve done a lot,” county Planning and Parks Director Andrew Struck told the Natural Resources Committee last week. “There are people going down the bluff of their own free will and creating hazards. There is no reason for anyone to be on the bluff.”

Current signage along trails warns hikers to stay on designated trails, to keep off the bluff, citing erosion issues, and to stay out of ecologically sensitive areas. 

In at least two instances, park visitors tumbled over the bluff chasing after unleashed dogs. A county ordinance, which is posted at the preserve, requires dogs be leashed in parks. 

The preserve’s popularity reached new heights in 2020 as people restricted in their activities by the coronavirus sought release outdoors.

There were more than 90,000 searches for Lion’s Den on the county website, double that of any other item, including for information regarding Covid-19, officials said.

Nearly 270,000 people visited the preserve in 2020, making it the most visited park in the county, a 121% increase from 2019, Struck said.

At times last year, Ozaukee County Sheriff’s deputies were called to direct traffic on the crowded roads leading to the preserve.

With more people, there were more incidents of people falling down the bluff.

On Jan. 15, two women fell 40 feet from the top of the bluff while retrieving a dog and had to be rescued.

Last August, a 21-year old woman slid down the bluff when the gravel gave way beneath her as she was standing near the edge with a group of friends. She also had to be rescued.

Three months earlier, in May, a 20-year-old woman and her 16-year-old sister were rescued by Ozaukee County Sheriff’s deputies after they slid down the bluff trying to retrieve their dog.

The incidents prompted Grafton Fire Chief Bill Rice to lobby for more space dedicated to emergency vehicles in the Lion’s Den parking lot.

County budgetmakers also are looking at improving the parking arrangements there for the public and launching a capital project to build a pavilion with bathrooms there.

But adding signs won’t necessarily improve the behavior of some of the users of the preserve, Struck said.

“All signage is a constant maintenance item,” he said. “People have bent or broken signs, cut them off (from their posts), dug them up and thrown them over the bluff.”

And if they don’t damage them, they ignore them, he said.

For instance, in winter the staircase to the lake is often blocked off because it’s difficult to keep it clear of snow and ice, making it hazardous, he said.

“People end up going down the gorge where it’s even more hazardous,” Struck said.

Corporation Counsel Rhonda Gordon, the county’s lawyer, said the number of incidents raises the spectre of the county being liable for injuries.

“The fact that it’s already happened raises the bar on us,” she told the Natural Resources Committee.

She suggested that signs not just make it clear that people should not go near the bluff because of erosion concerns but also because it is unstable.

“I think we should change those signs out there,” she said.

But she and Struck said it’s probably impossible to warn of every possible hazard that exists and trying to do so could even increase the county’s risk.

“There are known hazards throughout all our parks and to sign them all would be extremely difficult,” Struck said.

Meanwhile, the committee also approved applying for a state grant to replace parts of the preserve boardwalk and observation deck.

The county is requesting $40,000 through the state Department of Natural Resources Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Local Assistance Grant Program to replace the existing 14-year-old structure, which is showing signs of deterioration and is no longer accessible to those with disabilities due to sinking and shifting of piers, Struck said.

If the grant is awarded, the county will be responsible for spending an additional $40,000 on the project from its capital reserve fund.