County conservation lands — Sebastian, Florida

Indian River County lists ten conservation tracts with Sebastian addresses, and this page covers six of them plus two U.S. 1 parcels with Board-approved sale agreements under the 2022 environmental bond.

The list comes from the county's own roster. The Indian River County Conservation Lands page gives the Ansin Riverfront Conservation Area at 9800 Canoe Launch Cove, Sebastian, the Cypress Bend Community Preserve at 801 Gardenia St, the Archie Smith Fish House Conservation Area at 1740 North Indian River Drive, the Jane Schnee Scrub Preserve at 2050 Barber St, the Rodney Kroegel Conservation Area at 11296 Indian River Drive and the South Prong Preserve at 7775 85th Street (Indian River County Conservation Lands). The same roster carries four more tracts with Sebastian addresses, the North Sebastian Conservation Area at 1295 Main St, the Sebastian Harbor Preserve at 184 Englar Drive, the Sebastian Scrub Conservation Area at 1258 Schumann Drive and the Wabasso Scrub Conservation Area at 8900 64th Ave, which are left out of the table.

Most of these Sebastian tracts are closed to visitors. The county pages state that the Jane Schnee Scrub Preserve, a 10.6-acre oak scrub tract just west of U.S. 1 on Barber Street, is not open to the public and that the county has no current plans to develop passive recreation there; because the site abuts Barber Street, signs warn drivers about wildlife crossing (Indian River County). The South Prong Preserve and the Rodney Kroegel Conservation Area are also listed as not open (Indian River County).

Ansin Riverfront, Cypress Bend and South Prong are three county tracts on the St. Sebastian River, at 30, 47 and 37.5 acres of wetland, hammock and former grove.

The Ansin Riverfront Conservation Area is a 30-acre tract that was one small part of a multiple-phase land acquisition corridor that serves to protect the headwaters of the St. Sebastian River (Indian River County). It holds forested wetlands and hammock, borders the South Prong of the St. Sebastian River and shares its northeastern boundary with the 95-acre Fischer Tract. Indian River County purchased it in 2005 to provide a pedestrian connection and greenway between CR 512 and the Trans-Florida Central Railroad grade, the county canoe launch park and St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park. Parking is at the Sebastian River Canoe Launch immediately north, with 8 standard and 1 ADA spaces, 1/2 mile of walking trails and 2 wetland boardwalks; it is open 7:30 am to sunset, year-round, with dogs on leash.

Cypress Bend Community Preserve was once an active citrus grove located directly adjacent to the Sebastian River, and the county acquired the 47-acre tract in 2006 (Indian River County). The old grove is now dominated by ruderal vegetation and needs extensive restoration, but its uplands hold many Florida gopher tortoises and active burrows, and the county has completed roller chopping and invasive plant treatment. Access off Gardenia Street in Sebastian is pedestrian only, with no pets, and a small informal kayak launch is opened by calling 772-226-1875.

The South Prong Preserve, 37.5 acres on the north and south side of CR 510 (85th Street), includes a portion of the South Prong of the Sebastian River, with former citrus uplands and a bottomland forest of cypress, water hickory and cabbage palm (Indian River County). The county states that removing active agriculture there helps reduce the possibility of nutrient inputs from pesticides and herbicides and that conservation eliminates the potential for residential development; passive recreation will follow as funding becomes available.

On County Road 512 toward Fellsmere, the county's roster includes the 5,334-acre Carson Platt Estate, which the county says is managed in conjunction with the St. Sebastian River State Park by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection; the state park's south entrance is 1.8 miles west of I-95 on CR 512 (Indian River County).

On the Sebastian riverfront, Indian River County holds two small conservation tracts on Indian River Drive: the 1.14-acre Archie Smith Fish House and the 2.6-acre Rodney Kroegel Conservation Area.

Indian River County acquired the Archie Smith Fish House in 2005 as an important remnant of the once-flourishing working Sebastian waterfront, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994 (Indian River County). The county page records that the Ice House was removed after 2022 storm damage, that the observation pier, about 240 feet long, was renovated in 2017, and that the former Ice House section of the pier is under design as an over-water picnic pavilion. On October 11, 2026 the page still read 'Will be opening soon to the public' with an anticipated opening in 2024, so the Sebastian site's current opening status is not confirmed by the county.

The Rodney Kroegel Conservation Area at 11296 Indian River Drive preserves part of the Kroegel homestead on the west bank of the Indian River, the land farmed by Rodney Kroegel, son of Pelican Island's first refuge manager (Indian River County). The county gives two land-use reasons alongside the heritage one: public acquisition directs potential multi-family development away from a special flood hazard area and protects remnant coastal hammock. The county plans a defined walking path with signs, but the Sebastian site is not currently open to the public.

Indian River County voters approved up to $50 million in general obligation bonds in 2022 to buy environmentally significant land, and a nine-member panel ranks nominated parcels, including Sebastian sites.

On March 8, 2022, the Indian River County Board of County Commissioners unanimously passed Resolution 2022-016, which called a referendum on general obligation bonds up to $50,000,000, maturing within 20 years from each issuance, payable from ad valorem taxes, to acquire and permanently preserve land that restores the Indian River Lagoon and protects water resources, wildlife habitat and drinking water (Indian River County ELAP page). The county's December 2025 notice states that in 2022 the voters of Indian River County approved a $50 million Environmental Bond Referendum (Indian River County notice).

The machinery came two years later. On June 18, 2024, the commission unanimously passed Resolution 2024-029 approving the Final Environmental Lands Program Guide and establishing the Environmental Lands Acquisition Panel (Indian River County). The panel is made up of one appointee residing in each of the five commission districts plus four at-large members: two with natural resources experience, one in real estate or finance and one in planning or engineering. Meetings are held on the third Tuesday of every month from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM at County Administration Building B, 1800 27th Street, Vero Beach. Land is put forward through a parcel nomination form linked from the same page.

The two Sebastian parcels with Board-approved bond sale agreements are Hale Groves, 21.89 acres at 9250 U.S. Highway 1, and Durrance Place, 11.74 acres at 9455 U.S. Highway 1.

The county's notice dated December 26, 2025 lists Board-approved sale agreements for Hale Groves, 21.89 acres located at 9250 U.S. Highway 1, Sebastian, and Durrance Place, 11.74 acres located at 9455 U.S. Highway 1, Sebastian, and set Environmental Lands Acquisition Panel field reviews for January 6, 2026 at the Hale Groves parking lot (Indian River County notice). The other three parcels on that notice are in Vero Beach. The notice said the public could attend and observe a morning review from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and an afternoon review from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., subject to weather and field conditions.

Last verified: October 11, 2026, on the Indian River County website.