Savannas Preserve State Park

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Savannas Preserve State Park
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Jensen Beach FL Savannas Preserve SP01.jpg
USA Florida location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location St. Lucie County, Florida, United States
Nearest city Fort Pierce, Port St. Lucie and Jensen Beach, Florida
Coordinates 27°22′44″N80°18′16″W / 27.37889°N 80.30444°W / 27.37889; -80.30444 Coordinates: 27°22′44″N80°18′16″W / 27.37889°N 80.30444°W / 27.37889; -80.30444
Governing body Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Savannas Preserve State Park is a Florida State Park, located along much of the Atlantic Coast between Fort Pierce and Jensen Beach. Savannas Preserve also has a group of youth volunteers, the Junior Friends of Savannas Preserve State Park.

The Florida State Parks encompass the majority of the lands that fall under the authority of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. There are 175 such locations, including nature reserves, recreation areas, and historic sites. New park lands are added as landowners make gifts of property to the state or localities choose to turn over control of their historic sites to the state. The state park system is divided into five administrative districts.

East Coast of the United States Coastline in the United States

The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The coastal states that have shoreline on the Atlantic Ocean are, from north to south, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

Fort Pierce, Florida City in Florida, United States

Fort Pierce is a city in and the county seat of St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Treasure Coast region of Atlantic Coast Florida. It is also known as the Sunrise City, sister to San Francisco, California, the Sunset City. The population was 41,590 at the 2010 census. As of 2012, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 42,645. It was named after the Fort Pierce Army post which was built nearby in 1838 during the Second Seminole War. The military post had been named for Benjamin Kendrick Pierce, a career United States Army officer and the brother of President Franklin Pierce.

Contents

General

Savannas Preserve State Park is predominantly a savanna ; open grasslands with sparse South Florida slash pine trees. The park is made up of pine flatwoods, basin marsh, scrubby flatwoods, wet prairie and the Atlantic scrub ridge. Protecting southeast Florida's largest freshwater marsh, the Savannas Preserve State Park manages over 7,000 acres. It is home to many species, most notably: the threatened Florida scrub jay and gopher tortoise, the American alligator, and the sandhill crane. The park is also the home to a rare plant that only grows in the Savannas Preserve State Park in the world, the savannas mint.

Savanna grassland ecosystem

A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland grassland ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of grasses.

Florida scrub jay species of bird

The Florida scrub jay is one of the species of scrub jay native to North America. It is the only species of bird endemic to the U.S. state of Florida and one of only 15 species endemic to the continental United States. Because of this, it is heavily sought by birders who travel from across the country to observe this unique species. It is known to have been present in Florida as a distinct species for at least 2 million years, and is possibly derived from the ancestors of Woodhouse's scrub jay.

Alligator Genus of large reptiles

An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. The two living species are the American alligator and the Chinese alligator. Additionally, several extinct species of alligator are known from fossil remains. Alligators first appeared during the Oligocene epoch about 37 million years ago.

The Savannas Education Center has live exhibits, a gift shop, self-guided tour booklets, and information on many of Florida's State Parks. Interpretive guided tours and canoe/kayak trips are offered by the Friends of Savannas Preserve State Park (a nonprofit citizen's support organization).

Fishing is allowed, there is an equestrian entrance, and biking is permitted (although difficult because of the sand). The park also has nearly 13 miles (21 km) of public trails from Jensen Beach Blvd to Easy Street.

This park contains nearly all of the remaining populations of the fragrant prickly-apple (Harrisia fragrans), an endangered cactus species. [1]

<i>Harrisia fragrans</i> species of plant

Harrisia fragrans is a rare species of cactus known by the common names fragrant prickly apple and Caribbean applecactus. It is endemic to Florida, where it is known mainly from St. Lucie County. The plant's habitat has been almost completely consumed by development, leading to its rarity. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.

The main entrance to Savannas Preserve State Park is located at 2541 SE Walton Road, Port St. Lucie, Florida 34952.

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