Effective Sept. 25 - Until further notice due to trails being flooded all of these trails inside the Steve J. Fousek Preserve are closed until further notice. 

Steven J. Fousek Preserve is a complex of 494 acres of public preserve owned by St. Lucie County Board of County Commissioners and managed by St. Lucie County Environmental Resources Department (SLC ERD). These preserves were purchased with funds from the St. Lucie County’s Environmentally Significant Lands Bond Program, a local voter approved bond and Florida Communities' Trust—Florida Forever Program, a State funding program to preserve and provide passive public access to Florida’s remaining natural treasures. Several interpretive trails lead visitors through a variety of habitats including hydric hammock, wet prairie, prairie hammock, basin swamp, and depression marsh. The site is managed for exotic-invasive vegetation and passive recreation.

 The Steven J. Fousek Preserve is comprised of three preserves:

Hackberry Hammock (114 acres)

Paleo Hammock (80 acres)

Teague Hammock (300 acres)

A RESOLUTION WAS PASSED AND ADOPTED ON
DECEMBER 16, 2015
HONORING STEVEN J. FOUSEK
FOR HIS FAITHFUL AND DEDICATED SERVICE
TO THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA AND FOR HIS
OUTSTANDING CITIZENSHIP THROUGH HIS MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO PRESERVING
ST. LUCIE COUNTY’S NATURAL AREAS BY DEDICATING AND NAMING PALEO PRESERVE
AS THE “STEVEN J. FOUSEK NATURAL AREA” IN ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA

• Mr. Steven J. Fousek graduated from Virginia Tech with a BS Degree in Forestry.
• Steven “Steve” Fousek began working in St. Lucie County in 1984 as the Urban Forester; and was appointed in 1996 to implement the Environmentally Significant Lands Program.
• Steven J. Fousek efficiently, competently, and untiringly served this Board, and the citizens of St. Lucie County for nearly 30 years to further the public good by protecting and managing the County’s natural resources.
• During his tenure as Environmental Lands Manager, Steve was extremely instrumental in gathering voter support for a $20 million environmentally significant lands bond referendum.
• Notable achievements under his management include levying the voter-approved bond fund dollars with multiple other funding programs to acquire $78 million worth of land, resulting in the preservation of over 9,000 acres of environmentally significant lands in St. Lucie County located on more than 25 sites, to be enjoyed by future generations of St. Lucie County.
• Due to the untiring dedication by Steven J. Fousek to St. Lucie County, this Board believes that Mr. Fousek should be honored in a very special way.
  
  NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, in a meeting assembled this 16th day of December, 2014 that the Board of County Commissioners of St. Lucie County, Florida, does hereby honor Steven J. Fousek for his years of faithful and dedicated service to the Board of County Commissioners of St. Lucie County, Florida and for exemplifying outstanding citizenship through his major contributions to our Natural Areas by dedicating and naming Paleo Preserve on Carlton Road as the “Steven J. Fousek Natural Area” in St. Lucie County, Florida.