The 81acre park property is documented in the Rockledge Conservation Study as rare or uncommon, excellent habitat with diverse communities.  It is labeled a "high priority" property for preservation, good for nature trails, passive recreation and/or an environmental center.  It was also documented to be educationally valuable for local school outings and ecologically important for scientific research.  All of these attributes were documented uses for the property in 1991, before the City of Rockledge purchased it in 1995.

CITY OF ROCKLEDGE CONSERVATION STUDY
F.I.T,  1991
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. The aims of the Conservation Study for the City of Rockledge are:

• to describe the nature, extent, conservation status and distribution of natural communities in the City
•  to identify listed species in teh City and estimate their population size, and distribution
• to inventory the estuarine resources in the Indian River Lagoon, City of Rockledge and relate these                measures of water quality.
• to make recommendations for the conservation of these communities, species and estuarine resources in terms of the objectives and policies of the City of Rockledge Comprehensive Plan.

2. Eighteen natural community types are present in the City of which 15 are natural and three are man-made of disturbed: scrub communities include scrub, scrubby flatwoods, sand pine scrub and xeric hammock: mesic uplands are comprised of mesic hammock, dry prairie, mesic flatwoods, and prairie hammock: wetlands consist of floodplain marsh, basin marsh, basin swamp, depression marsh, hydric hammock, wet flatwood and wet prairie; and man-made waterbodies and abandoned agriculture.

3. Natural communities now comprise less than 20% of the City area.  Of this acreage 8% is scrub and maritime hammock (originally 18%), flatwoods are over 60% of the acreage (originally 54%) and wetlands now down to 9% (originally 24%).

4. Not only has the acreage of natural communities in the City of Rockledge decreased but the remaining areas are largely fragmented with only ten sites regarded as large enough (30 acres) not to be seriously affected by the external threats of surrounding development (known as edge effects).

5. A comparison of the natural communities on these ten sites is based on:

• rarity (state rankings S1 -S5) 
• their rankings as determined by the Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands Selection Committtee
• the degree of connectedness to other natural communities
• the extent of disturbance
• the manageability of the site
• the potential for nature oriented human use potential        

gave the highest priority for conservation to sites 5N and 5S, high priority to sites 8, 7, 1E, and 4 and lower priority to sites 2, 3, 28, and 33.

6. A preliminary survey of species in the City has recorded: 14 listed plant species; 16 listed bird species; and 3 listed reptile and amphibian species in addition to numerous other species including insects, spiders, mammals, fish, and mollusks.  Sites which are very important for the conservation of listed species include 5N, 5S, 1E and 4.

7. Species for which the City of Rockledge is especially important include:

• Plants: Hand fern, Curtiss' milkweed, Large flowered rosemary
• Birds: Florida scrub jay, Bald eagle, Least tern, Sandhill Crane, Southern hairy woodpecker
• Reptiles and Amphibians: Gopher tortoise, Gopher frog, Scrub lizard

8. In terms of estuarine resources the water quality in the Indian River Lagoon, City of Rockledge is very very poor indicated by almost complete loss of seagrass (largely disappeared by 1974), increasing nitrogen levels, and deep sediment layers of 'muck' (black ooze bottom deposits dated to human activities in the upland watershed over the past 30 years).

9. Poor water quality is also reflected in the fisheries of the Indian River Lagoon, City of Rockledge where, of 132 fish species which could potentially be found with good water quality and habitat, only 28 species have been recorded recently.  also of 21 commercially important species only 13 occur and of these only three are found frequently.

10. The greatest negative effect on the water quality of the Indian River Lagoon appears to be stormwater run-off conveyed through canals and stormwater drains.  Water quality will only improve with a vigorous and comprehensive reduction in the volume of stormwater.

11. Recommendations are made for the conservation and enhancement of the natural communities, species and estuarine resources of the City of Rockledge within the framework of the City Comprehensive Plan including:

• Management Plans for listed species
• Performance zoning
• Land acquisition and funding
• Governmental and non-governmental agency liaison
• Environmental Impact Statement ordinance
• Scrub ordinance
• Establishment of nature sites
• Systems approach to wetland conservation
• Wildlife Corridor Plan
• Design and management of stormwater retention/detention and canal systems
• Public information and education service for wildlife issues
• Reduction in the use of herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers in the City
• Implementation of stormwater reduction BMPs including retrofitting
• Development of a major stormwater retention/detention system