WATER & COAST
St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve
Gulf County · Panhandle & Emerald Coast
Five and a half thousand acres of sandhill, flatwoods and salt marsh kept undeveloped to protect the water quality of St. Joseph Bay.
ABOUT THIS PLACE
The St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve covers 5,556 acres about five miles southeast of Port St. Joe, south of U.S. 98 and along State Road 30-A. It was set aside in 1995 for a specific job: to buffer the St. Joseph Bay Aquatic Preserve, keeping the land around the bay undeveloped so runoff does not spoil the water quality, the seagrass and the productivity that the bay's scallops and fish depend on. Eighteen distinct natural communities have been recorded inside it, which is a lot of variety for one property: sandhill and mesic flatwoods, salt marsh and basin swamp, beach dune and coastal grassland, scrub and scrubby flatwoods, xeric hammock and maritime hammock. Bald eagles and snowy plovers nest here, and white-tailed deer, bobcats, black bears and alligators all use it. A visitor center opens from 9 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon, and nature trails are walkable from sunrise to sunset. Parking is spread across the visitor center, the Deal Tract, the main gate, the south gate and the island gate, and there is a canoe and kayak launch at the Deal Tract. There is no charge
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