Thirty-nine district properties reopen to recreation following Hurricane Irma

Staff are working diligently to clear district lands following Hurricane Irma.

PALATKA, Fla., Sept. 21, 2017 — The St. Johns River Water Management District has reopened 39 of its conservation lands following Hurricane Irma’s impact last week. The district continues to assess damage from Hurricane Irma and make repairs to its public lands, with a goal to reopen the properties for recreational uses as soon as it is safe to do so.

The following properties have reopened, some with limited access as repairs are made:

• Bayard Conservation Area and Bayard Wildlife Management Area (WMA) – WMA is walk-in only (Clay County)
• Black Creek Ravines Conservation Area (Clay County)
• Buck Lake Conservation Area and Buck Lake WMA – east entrance off of S.R. 46 is open, but with limited driving access. West entrance off of S.R. 46 is walk-in only. Morgan-Alderman Road access is closed. (Brevard and Volusia counties)
• Canaveral Marshes Conservation Area (Brevard County)
• Clark Bay Conservation Area (Volusia County)
• Deep Creek Conservation Area – Dog Branch stormwater portion only (St. Johns and Putnam counties)
• Dunns Creek Conservation Area and WMA – walk-in only (Putnam County)
• Emeralda Marsh Conservation Area – Area 6 (Bull Hammock parking area) is open for walk-in only. Areas 2 and 4 can be accessed by boat via Lake Griffin. Areas 3, 5 and 7 remain closed due to restoration activities. (Lake County)
• Gourd Island Conservation Area (St. Johns County)
• Heart Island Conservation Area, includes part of Lake George WMA — Truck Trail 12 is closed (Volusia County)
• Julington-Durbin Preserve, except the Red Trail, which is closed due to high water (Duval County)
• Lake Apopka North Shore – Red Trail only, off County Road 448A (Lake and Orange counties)
• Lake George Conservation Area (includes part of Lake George WMA) (Putnam and Volusia counties)
• Lake Jesup Conservation Area – Cameron Avenue and Marl Bed Flats trailheads (Seminole County)
• Lake Monroe WMA and Lake Monroe Conservation Area (Volusia County)
• Lake Norris Conservation Area (Lake County)
• Lochloosa Wildlife Conservation Area and Lochloosa Wildlife Management Area – limited access. Burnt Island is closed. (Alachua County)
• Longleaf Flatwoods Reserve (Alachua County)
• Moses Creek Conservation Area (St. Johns County)
• Murphy Creek Conservation Area (Putnam County)
• Newnans Lake Conservation Area and Hatchet Creek Wildlife Management Area – only the Hatchet Creek Tract is open (area north of S.R 26). Hatchet Creek WMA is open but has a new access point. (Alachua County)
• Orange Creek Restoration Area (Alachua and Marion counties)
• Pellicer Creek Conservation Area (Flagler County)
• Seminole Ranch Conservation Area and Seminole Ranch WMA (Volusia, Orange, Brevard and Seminole counties)
• Stokes Landing Conservation Area (St. Johns County)
• Sunnyhill Restoration Area – North Tract (Marion County)
• Thomas Creek Conservation Area and Kings Road Thomas Creek Wildlife Management Area – only Kings Road Unit Thomas Creek WMA is open. (Duval and Nassau counties)
• Twelve Mile Swamp Conservation Area (St. Johns County)
• Upper St. Johns River Marsh Water Management Area (WMA), which includes Blue Cypress, Three Forks and River Lake conservation areas. Two access areas within the WMA remain closed, including the Moccasin Island tract of the Upper St. Johns River Marsh WMA (Wickham Road) and the C-54 Canal. (Brevard, Indian River and Osceola counties)

All other district lands remain closed.

For continuing updates on district operations, visit the district’s website, www.sjrwmd.com.