Loxahatchee Greenways Project

Natural Resource Connections

The area of the Loxahatchee Greenways System provides habitat for many native plants and animals, including bald eagles, snail kites, ospreys and a vast number of wading birds.



The Natural Resource Task Force worked for two years to determine the most appropriate regional greenway connections between the remaining core natural resource areas for protection of the Loxahatchee River and its watershed. The system links five natural areas through six major greenways, creating a 200,000-acre system of green spaces (See the map on below). Some of these connections are within the watershed (numbers 2 through 5). Others connect the watershed to neighboring systems (numbers 1 and 6). The proposed greenways are:

1. St. Lucie River - Jonathan Dickinson State Park Greenway. This greenway contains the headwaters of two creek systems: the South Fork of the St. Lucie River, and Kitching Creek. Its preservation will allow the return of natural water flow between the creeks and the river. It also will offer canoeing, hiking and nature study close to Martin County's urban centers.

2. Jonathan Dickinson State Park J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area Greenway. This greenway will link two of the most ecologically diverse areas in south Florida, through the Pal-Mar region. Home to endangered species like red-cockaded woodpeckers, bald eagles and snail kites, Pal-Mar is one of the largest functioning wetland ecosystems in south Florida. This greenway will offer hiking, camping, fishing, horseback riding and environmental education.

3. Cypress Creek Greenway. This greenway contains a critical water linkage between the Loxahatchee River and a portion of the river's headwaters in Pal-Mar. Conservation of this greenway will include a return to a more natural water flow. It will also offer opportunities for hiking and fishing.

4. Jonathan Dickinson State Park West Palm Beach Water Catchment Area Greenway. This greenway connects the Northwest Fork of the Loxahatchee River and the Loxahatchee Slough, one of the river's major headwaters. Its preservation will allow the restoration of natural water flow through the slough to the river. It also will offer canoeing and hiking trails, as well as public education at two interpretive centers.

5. West Palm Beach Water Catchment Area J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area Greenway. This greenway will provide a corridor for wildlife movement and a hiking trail between the two areas.

6. J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge Greenway. This greenway will be a corridor for animals between the Everglades and the Loxahatchee Regional Greenways System.



Natural Resource Greenway Recommendations

Much of the large natural habitat areas within the Loxahatchee River Basin, although isolated, have been protected through acquisition by state and county government. An objective of the Loxahatchee Greenways Project is to reconnect these Core Natural Areas :

· Jonathan Dickinson State Park, which contains a number of wetlands systems surrounding the North and Northwest forks of the river.

· The J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area and the DuPuis Reserve State Forest to the west.

· The West Palm Beach Water Catchment Area, a 19-square mile expanse of wetlands that provides important habitat for wildlife while ensuring adequate water supplies for urban areas to the east.

· The Pal-Mar region and an area along the Atlantic Coastal Ridge, which are under consideration for purchase by the state through the Conservation and Recreation Lands (CARL) program.

· The Loxahatchee Slough, the heart of the greenway network recently acquired by Palm Beach County's Environmentally Sensitive Land Acquisition Program.