For decades, the state of Florida and residents of northern Palm Beach County and southern Martin County have been working to protect a mosaic of wetland marshes and low-elevation pinelands that are critical to maintaining healthy watersheds of the Loxahatchee River and the south fork of the St. Lucie River.

More than 11,000 acres of privately owned land just west of the residential community of Hobe Sound separate Jonathan Dickinson State Park and Atlantic Ridge Preserve State Park. Wetlands in Florida’s Atlantic Coastal Ridge — where the maximum elevation is 86 feet above sea level, on Hobe Mountain — may have little to no surface water for half of the year, with water flows nearly undetectable during the dry season. But when skies darken and summer rains fall, water in formerly isolated wetlands flows south through Kitching Creek into the Loxahatchee River and north into the south fork of the St. Lucie River. Numerous threatened and endangered plant species exist on several undeveloped tracts located between the state parks. These tracts also serve as critical pathways for native fauna in the area.

In 2018, The Conservation Fund, the Guardians of Martin County and the Treasured Lands Foundation began developing a campaign to bring these key properties into conservation management. Critical lands within the project area have been on the Florida Forever list of desirable at-risk parcels for years, but intense competition for limited state dollars has prevented the project from scoring high enough to attract public funding. These properties, which are situated at the edge of Martin County’s Primary Urban Services District, are subject to intense development pressure, as the demand for residences and urban development surges north from the megalopolis of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. In fact, this area represents the last large, undeveloped natural area of its kind east of Interstate 95 that has not yet been claimed for development or conservation.

Our Role

Our coalition is working together to protect this last remaining wild area and these two watersheds that also feed into the Indian River Lagoon system. In October 2021, we purchased the first critical property in this effort, a strategically located 138-acre parcel that included two miles of frontage on Bridge Road. In September 2023, we acquired a second property, which includes 20 strategically located acres that will serve as a vital conduit for wildlife and water in Atlantic Ridge Preserve State Park and Jonathan Dickinson State Park. These efforts will help leverage funding from the state’s Florida Forever program to protect the larger Loxa-Lucie landscape.

Why It Matters

Many land speculators have had a different vision for this land. One such vision involved carving it up into dozens of sites for single-family homes, which would have interrupted surface and subsurface hydrologic flow, animal movement between the state parks and water flowing into the already endangered Indian River Lagoon system — the most biologically diverse estuary in the country. As our work across the United States has shown, purchasing land from willing sellers while it is still in restorable condition is much less expensive than trying to retrofit channelized water flow and address the habitat fragmentation that results from residential development.

Once these lands are brought into conservation management, they will be able to effectively manage water flow into the Loxahatchee and St. Lucie rivers and provide recreational opportunities for residents and visitors. The lands will also maintain biodiversity in a corridor that links over 16,500 acres of existing state park lands and provide permanent protection for wildlife corridors and foraging and nesting habitat for wood storks, snail kites, limpkins and other native wildlife.

What Can You Do?

Donation Online
To donate online to the Loxa-Lucie project, please click here.

Making A Gift To The Conservation Fund
On behalf of The Conservation Fund, thank you for your support of the Loxa-Lucie project. Your restricted gift will directly support the acquisition costs associated with our work in Hobe Sound.

Acknowledgements & Recognition
We formally acknowledge all contributions to The Conservation Fund by letter. Unless directed by the donor to remain anonymous, all gifts of $1,000 and more are recognized in our annual report. Thank you for your thoughtful commitment.

Donation via Check
Checks should be made payable to The Conservation Fund. Please designate your gift by including Loxa Lucie Headwaters Initiative/Bridge Rd, FL #26995 on the reference line. Checks can be mailed to The Conservation Fund’s headquarters at 1655 N. Fort Myer Drive, Suite 1300, Arlington, VA 22209.

Donation via Wire
Please contact Rachel Frazier.

Letters of Support

• Town of Jupiter Island
• Rivers Coalition
• Hobe Sound Golf Club Property Owners Association
• Board of Directors, Martin County Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society