Protected Lands
IRLT Protected Properties
In 2009, the IRLT Board of Directors identified undeveloped properties with wildlife habitat and water quality protection value for the Indian River Lagoon as its highest priority for protection. Since that time, IRLT has purchased and managed significant conservation lands that adjoin or feed into the Indian River Lagoon.
IRLT has protected over 1,300 acres, including 12 miles of shoreline on the Indian River Lagoon. Many of these properties are complemented by adjoining County conservation lands, forming large blocks of critical wildlife habitat.
Protected Properties
Lagoon Greenway
The 205-acre Lagoon Greenway is a jointly owned and managed natural area offering over four miles of trails, expansive wetlands, and more than a mile of Lagoon frontage. The trail winds its way through an oak hammock and a forest of cabbage palms leading to a boardwalk that immerses visitors in a mangrove forest on the way to a Lagoon overlook. The Land Trust originally acquired 66 acres of mangrove forest when it saved McKee Botanical Garden in the 1990s and added 35 acres in 2020. Also in the 1990s, Indian River County acquired the conservation property that contains the parking area, trailhead, and main trail to the Lagoon. Part of the trail system is owned by the Florida Inland Navigation District. The idea of the Lagoon Greenway was proposed to the County by the Land Trust in 2008 and the trail opened in 2012.
Toni Robinson Waterfront Trail
The Toni Robinson Waterfront Trail is a true gem of a trail that contains majestic oaks, sandy Florida scrub, and sweeping views of the Indian River Lagoon. The Land Trust purchased a 1.6-acre parcel in 2009, followed by two additional acquisitions totaling 37 acres and a generous gift of 12 acres from the Schwerin family. The trail opened in 2013 and has become a popular destination with the installation of 43 interpretive signs and several benches. Due to the continued generosity of our philanthropic community, in spring 2024 the Land Trust was able to act quickly to acquire a 48-acre piece of the land conservation puzzle on the Lagoon. In the spring of 2025, two acquisitions preserved an additional 13 acres, bridging two previously separated conservation areas. These properties strategically connect to the Waterfront Trail, establishing a contiguous area of 157 protected acres of Lagoon-front property in a rapidly developing area of Indian River County.Oyster Bar Marsh
Oyster Bar Marsh, named for the historic oyster reefs that once surrounded the distinct peninsula, contains 144 acres of protected land acquired over more than a decade ago. Indian River County made several purchases in the early 2000's and the Land Trust purchased two additional parcels totaling 30 acres in 2011, completing the acquisitions needed to establish the trail system first envisioned by the County in the 1990s. With Land Trust funding from many generous families, the designs for the trail system began in 2019 and the trail opened to the public in 2023. For more information and directions, click here.
Other Significant Properties:
Coastal Oaks Preserve
In 2011, the Land Trust purchased 191 acres of the former historic Hallstrom Estate, now known as Coastal Oaks Preserve. The Preserve has incrementally expanded to 226 acres over the past decade. Located 1/2 mile north of the St. Lucie - Indian River County border, the property features a variety of habitats, including freshwater wetlands, pine flatwoods, tropical oak-palm hammocks, salt marsh, mangrove forest, and seagrass beds. It serves as the site for the Junior Scientist Fellows Program where high school juniors and seniors are mentored by faculty and staff from FAU's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute as they conduct hands-on research projects. A Living Classroom is currently being constructed on the property where environmental organizations and institutions will engage adults and youth alike as they gather, learn and share all the property has to offer through educational programs and research projects.Click here to learn more about the project and progress.
Bee Gum Point Preserve
IRLT purchased Bee Gum Point in 2011. The 111-acre property was one of the last unprotected wetlands on the barrier island and contains a mile of Lagoon shoreline. Due to its location along the Atlantic Flyway, a major corridor for migrating birds, IRLT obtained grant funding toward its purchase from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect critical bird habitat. The preserve is managed as a bird sanctuary, where the Land Trust holds regularly scheduled bird-watching and conservation tours. Additionally, this unique preserve has served as a study site for research projects on seagrasses, diamondback terrapins, and sportfish such as snook and tarpon.
Winter Beach Salt Marsh
In 2010, IRLT purchased 50 acres of conservation land in Winter Beach along the west side of the Indian River Lagoon, adjoining the County's Spoonbill Marsh north of Grand Harbor. The property contains a combination of mangrove forest and high salt marsh habitat that has become increasingly rare as a result of development and impoundment of wetlands for mosquito control. With subsequent purchases, the conservation area now totals 66 acres and has benefitted from extensive salt marsh restoration work funded by grants from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This wetland property does not have public access.
Bridgeview Property
From 2013 to 2020, IRLT acquired a total of 300 acres along the west side of the Indian River Lagoon, north of the Barber Bridge. There is now a nearly two-mile stretch of protected green shoreline, known as The Narrows, in full view from the well-traveled bridge.The properties include mangrove forest, high salt marsh, tidal creeks, and upland meadows and forests. This property currently does not have public access.
Pine Island
Thanks to a generous donation of 120 acres of land lying south of the Environmental Learning Center, the Land Trust was able to acquire an additional 60-acre parcel, thereby protecting 180 acres in the middle of the Indian River Lagoon.This wetland property, like so many, is managed together with the Indian River Mosquito Control District. It contains critical bird habitat, and does not have public access.
St. Sebastian River Properties
The St. Sebastian River, Indian River County's only natural tributary to the Indian River Lagoon, supports an extraordinary diversity of wildlife, including a towering forest of ancient bald cypress, manatee, alligator, the prehistoric garfish, important bird rookeries, and several species of globally rare fish. Since the St. Sebastian River Greenway was first envisioned in 2004, the Indian River Land Trust has been a key partner in advancing the vision by helping develop the Greenway Plan, adopted by the Indian River County Board of Commissioners, and protecting strategic at-risk properties to create a continuous corridor of native habitat leading to the Indian River Lagoon. Click HERE to see the original concept map of the St. Sebastian River Greenway.In 2023, the Land Trust acquired a 36-acre property on the South Prong of the St. Sebastian River bordering the City of Sebastian. A second acquisition in 2025 protected an additional 20 acres, followed by a third acquisition in July 2026 of a strategically important 1.6-acre parcel that secures a critical link in the future greenway.
Together, these acquisitions are advancing the efforts between the Land Trust, conservation partners, and government leaders to establish the long-envisioned St. Sebastian River Greenway - a scenic conservation corridor that protects wildlife habitat while creating future opportunities for public access and recreation.
Click HERE to watch a short video announcing our latest land acquisition to protect the St. Sebastian River.