Palm Coast Seeks to Protect Palm Coast Parkway’s Unique Hard Wood Tree Canopy

If you travel on Palm Coast Parkway eastbound from Florida Park, you find something quite unique: a beautiful hardwood tree canopy. The City of Palm Coast has sought to permanently protect the tree canopy by including it in the request to the Legislative Delegation to include this area in the county’s Environmentally Sensitive Lands priority list, which would then make it eligible for Forever Florida funding.

The tree canopy, or Tree Tunnel, runs from the intersection of Palm Coast Parkway and Old Kings Road all the way to the Palm Harbor Parkway intersection. This area showcases the beautiful native trees that are present here in Palm Coast and gives a glimpse of the beginnings of Graham Swamp. The property at Palm Coast Parkway and Colbert Lane includes trees over 70” in diameter, important habitat for native wildlife, and flood water storage as part of the swamp. Being able to preserve the northernmost part of Graham Swamp would both preserve the character of the “Tree Tunnel” and keep the swamp as a large connected system that allows water storage and water treatment for the city. Support of this request by the State would include the tree canopy in the Flagler County Environmentally Sensitive Lands Program and Florida Forever funding.

In addition to the request to protect the tree canopy, the City of Palm Coast requested ten other priorities during the Legislative Delegation meeting. These range from environmental to infrastructure to supporting future smart-managed growth. All requested priorities can be found here.

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