Fish Island Preserve

Exactly two years after the State of Florida officially acquired the land for $6.5 million, the dream of St. Augustine’s Fish Island Preserve has come true.

Sitting in Marsh Creek’s backyard at the end of Plantation Drive on the South side of SR 312, the land that once was its own island and is now adjoined to Anastasia Island offers hundreds of acres of exploration of Jesse Fish’s old 1748 plantation home. The preserve is ideal for walkers, amateur archeologists, and anyone wanting a look back several centuries into Florida history.

The City of St. Augustine, one of six partners that joined to lobby the state for its preservation, describes Fish Island as ” … significant for the story yet to be told of Native Americans, enslaved Africans and the eventual demise of Jesse Fish’s plantation”.

UPDATE: The Spoonbill Courier received word of a November 30th report from the Matanzas Riverkeeper regarding the Gate Gas Station efforts to build a car wash on or near Fish Island: “Gate has received approval from both the St. Johns River Water Management District and the City of St. Augustine to build their car wash next to the entrance of Fish Island Preserve…. With your help we were able to successfully stop them from building their stormwater retention pond ON Fish Island, but they have changed their plan to use an underground vaulted system to keep their runoff on site and gotten the necessary approvals to do so. While having a car wash directly next to the entrance of the Preserve will be a blight on the landscape, it is important to remember that together we saved Fish Island as a whole from clearcutting and becoming a housing development”.

March Creek resident, Peter Clayton was one of the early visitors last week. He shared the news that paths have been cleared but no directional signs were yet erected.

There is one exception: a piece of paper attached a fence gate barring foot traffic further down the southern section of the trail. Its temporarily closure due to the presence of a bald eagle nesting site. Hikers have to turn around but can continue exploring the island by taking one of the offshoot trails that run west toward the Matanzas River and the water’s edge of the marsh.

There, within sight is the arcing SR 312 bridge to the south, and due west, the familiar profile of Flagler Hospital. Both stand as sharp reminders of the encroachments of modern life around this island’s idyllic relic of natural Florida history.

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Watch a YouTube video of Fish Island Preserve