Sebastian Scrub Conservation Areas Guide

Four Indian River County conservation areas hold Sebastian's scrub, on Schumann Drive, Englar Drive, Main Street and 64th Avenue, and all four open from 7:30 a.m. to sunset year round.

The county lists each site's Hours of Operation as 7:30am-sunset, year-round, and bans alcohol and camping at all four (Sebastian Scrub, Sebastian Harbor Preserve, North Sebastian, Wabasso Scrub). The differences matter on arrival. Sebastian Harbor Preserve lists Parking spaces -0 and No Pets, so a visitor with a dog belongs at North Sebastian or Wabasso Scrub instead. North Sebastian lists the most parking, 15 spaces and one accessible space, and its restrooms are at Friendship Park rather than on the tract. Wabasso Scrub sends visitors to park at Wabasso Park.

The Sebastian scrub preserves exist because the Sebastian Area-Wide Florida Scrub-Jay Habitat Conservation Plan, adopted in March 2000, lets homes be built on platted lots in the Sebastian Highlands in return for county-managed scrub.

In March 2000, Indian River County, in coordination with the City of Sebastian, adopted the plan, which allows the construction of homes on platted single-family lots in the Sebastian Highlands; in exchange, Indian River County agreed to manage county-owned scrub conservation lands to maximize scrub-jay habitat (Indian River County Comprehensive Plan, Conservation Element). The county's North Sebastian page calls that tract a key property for County resource management under the Sebastian Area-Wide Florida Scrub-Jay Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) that was finalized in March 2000 (Indian River County), and its Wabasso page says the plan was approved by the USFWS and spells out the trade: managing that tract in part mitigates for the incidental take of Florida Scrub-jays within platted lots in the Sebastian Highlands (Indian River County).

The Sebastian Scrub page describes the same arrangement from the ground: the tract is part of the Sebastian Area-Wide Florida Scrub-Jay Habitat Management Area, a large-scale conservation plan designed to off-set impacts to Florida scrub-jay habitat within the Sebastian Highlands (Indian River County). For a buyer of a Highlands lot, that is the reason scrub next door may be cleared for a house while these four tracts stay wild.

The Schumann Drive to Englar Drive corridor links the 10-acre Sebastian Scrub tract, the water management district's Stormwater Park and the 163-acre Sebastian Harbor Preserve inside the Sebastian Highlands.

The Sebastian Scrub Conservation Area is a 10-acre tract located on the west side of Schumann Drive approximately 0.5 miles north of the intersection at Barber Street (Indian River County). Oak scrub and scrubby flatwoods dominate. The county has cleared trails and firebreaks and installed an informational kiosk and signs, and it monitors the scrub-jays seen on site. It reminds visitors that the scrub-jay is a federally protected species, and it is unlawful to feed or harass these birds. The same page still promises a future smart phone app with an interactive trail map; as of October 14, 2026 the amenity line reads Walking Trails under development.

Sebastian Harbor Preserve sits north of the Stormwater Park. Indian River County bought the 163-acre tract in 2007, in part to give the residents of Sebastian a site to explore native habitat within their community (Indian River County). Scrubby and mesic flatwoods dominate, broken by freshwater marshes and wet prairies, and the county notes a resident bald eagle and numerous osprey nests. The two county pages disagree on the park between them: the Sebastian Scrub page calls it the 179 acre Sebastian Stormwater Park, while the Harbor Preserve page says it shares its southern boundary with the 166-acre Sebastian Stormwater Park. The Digital Towns Sebastian Stormwater Park guide covers that middle link.

The North Sebastian Conservation Area at 1295 Main St has the most trail, over 10 miles with boardwalks, and it is the only Indian River County conservation tract that allows horses.

The roughly 407 acre North Sebastian Conservation Area (NSCA) was purchased between 1996 and 1999 by Indian River County under three Florida Communities Trust (FCT) cost-share grant projects, the county states (Indian River County). Its plant communities run from mesic and hydric pine flatwoods to oak scrub, sand pine scrub, freshwater marshes and wet prairies. Over 10 miles of trails have been established on the site, with boardwalks traversing many of the wetlands, and the tract is part of the Great Florida Birding Trail.

This is the only conservation tract managed by the County that allows for equestrian use, and two equestrian stalls stand at the main entrance. The rules ask for leashed dogs and allow fishing at designated areas only, with no alcohol, camping, overnight parking or fires. Beyond scrub-jays, the county lists roseate spoonbills, wood storks, bald eagles, osprey and sandhill cranes on the North Sebastian tract.

The Wabasso Scrub Conservation Area on 64th Avenue was bought in 1995, the earliest purchase year on the four county pages, and it doubles as a relocation site for gopher tortoises.

The 111 acre Wabasso Scrub Conservation Area, at 8900 64th Ave with a Sebastian address, was purchased in 1995 (Indian River County). The county breaks the tract into 53 acres of Sand Pine/Scrub Oak and Scrubby Flatwoods communities, 15 acres of Wet Prairies, 41 acres of Pine Flatwoods and about 2 acres of other lands. Sand pine scrub, roughly 40 percent of the area, is classified as imperiled both globally and statewide by the Florida Natural Areas Inventory and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Scrub-jays and gopher tortoises have been studied on the Wabasso tract since 2000, and it has served as a recipient site for relocated Florida gopher tortoises, a state-listed threatened species. Visitors park at Wabasso Park and walk in on the trails, with dogs on leash.

Indian River County keeps Sebastian's scrub low and open with roller chopping, burning and melaleuca removal, monitors the scrub-jays on its tracts, and last put a number in its comprehensive plan: 15 scrub-jay families in the plan area in 2006.

Management on Sebastian Harbor Preserve began in 2007 with roller chopping and burning in the flatwoods, and a melaleuca removal project in the wetlands, where melaleuca weevils were introduced to aid in long term control (Indian River County). On the Sebastian Scrub tract the county has cleared trails and firebreaks and runs an active program to monitor scrub-jays so that habitat management can be designed to maximize habitat for the species (Indian River County).

The county's comprehensive plan records that in 2006, 15 scrub jay families were documented within the HCP area (Indian River County Comprehensive Plan). That is the most recent family count found on an official county page for this guide, so it is a dated figure rather than a current census. Questions about access or closures go to Indian River County at 772-567-8000, 1801 27th Street, Vero Beach (Indian River County). Last verified: October 14, 2026, on the Indian River County website.