Quick Facts about North Fork St. Lucie River Aquatic Preserve

Quick Topics

The North Fork St. Lucie River was extensively channelized and dredged in the early 1900s.
The North Fork St. Lucie River, designated as an aquatic preserve in 1972, is a freshwater system upstream and a brackish system near the St. Lucie Estuary.
The river supports a variety of federally and state-protected species such as American alligators, manatees, river otters, nesting wood storks, little blue herons, brown pelicans, snook and opossum pipefishes.
Rare tropical peripheral fish species, such as gobies, sleepers, and pipefishes, are also found in the upper reaches of the North Fork and the two headwaters - Five Mile Creek and Ten Mile Creek.
The river is especially important habitat for the juvenile phases of commercially important species such as blue crabs, snook, snapper, drum and shrimp.
The North Fork St. Lucie River is part of Florida�s "Save our Rivers" program.

Butterfly orchid

Great white egret in breeding plumage

Last updated: September 24, 2010