ST. LUCIE COUNTY — Some trails at George Lestrange Preserve will close for several months as St. Lucie County begins a restoration project along Ten Mile Creek in partnership with Ducks Unlimited.
The project will restore a historic oxbow floodplain connection within the preserve to improve hydrologic connectivity and increase seasonal water levels in surrounding wetlands. Officials said the effort will also restore wetland habitats that support wildlife and provide natural floodplain protection.
Designed and permitted under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the project also received construction funding through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Wetland Restoration and Protection Grant. Additional work includes streambank erosion control using native plants to help reduce downstream nutrient and sediment transport, with the goal of improving water quality and lowering Total Maximum Daily Load inputs outlined in the county’s Basin Management Action Plan.
Construction is scheduled to begin in late February and will require a partial trail closure. The preserve will remain open from sunrise to sunset, but the trailhead will move to the south entrance while the northern entrance and trail are closed. Visitors will be directed to turn around and loop back along the southern portion of the trail during construction.
The project is expected to be completed in August 2026, when the full trail will reopen.
George Lestrange Preserve, located at 4911 Ralls Road in Fort Pierce, spans 94 acres and features a one-mile loop trail around a 37-acre catch-and-release lake. Side trails pass through habitats including pine flatwoods, scrubby flatwoods and palm hammocks.
St. Lucie County’s Environmental Resources Department manages about 11,000 acres of land open to the public for passive recreation. The preserves were purchased through a voter-approved 1994 referendum that provided a $20 million bond matched with private and public grants, allowing the county to acquire $76 million in preservation land.