Vaill Point Park

The Moultrie Creek / Intracoastal Park (Vaill Point) contains 23 acres, bordered on the east by the Intracoastal Waterway and on the north by Moultrie Creek. Accessible from US 1 via Vaill Point Road and Sturdivant Road, this site constitutes the last remaining parcel from an 80-acre parent tract owned by the Vaill Family since 1918. Over the years, the Vaill Family utilized this site for passive recreational activities such as family picnics and horseback riding.

Acquisition of this project site has provided this community with a much-needed neighborhood/community park, provided additional access to the Moultrie and Intracoastal Waterways, improved the surrounding water quality, connected St. Johns County’s Northeast Blueway – Phase II with Duval County’s Blueway – Phase I, promoted a local canoe blueway trail and provided additional environmental resources protection. Acquisition and preservation of this site have furthered the established initiatives started by NOAA/DEP through the Guana Tolomato Matanzas (GTM) National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR), the DEP through the Guana, Tolomato, Matanzas Shellfish Harvesting Task Force, and the SJRWMD through the Northern Coastal Basins Program. All of the project site characteristics, as stated above, are consistent with the St. Johns County 2015 Comprehensive Plan’s initiatives.

Environment
Elevated on a geologically unique bluff (20-25 feet on the east side) the site overlooks the Intracoastal Waterway and Moultrie Creek. Many panoramic and vista views can be observed of the surrounding waterways from the densely vegetated plant communities containing plant species characteristic of North Florida. These native vegetative communities vary with the topography and consist of Live Oak/Upland Temperate Hammock, Temperate Hardwoods, Oak/Pine Forest, and Saltwater Marsh. The Bluff (Mesic Uplands) is contained within the Live Oak / Upland Temperate Hammock and the Temperate Hammock communities that line the entire northern and northeastern boundaries (approximately 1146 linear feet) of the site along both the Moultrie Creek and the Matanzas River. The Bluff (Mesic Uplands) vegetative community is classified as imperiled in Florida. According to the Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI), there are only 19 other locations in the State of Florida where this occurs. The very high-quality native vegetative communities consist of mature canopy trees and densely vegetated understories. There are only a few locations in the uplands and along the wetlands where re-vegetation of native vegetative communities needs to occur. Where erosion has occurred in both the uplands and the wetlands areas will need to be re-vegetated with native vegetation. The bluff is of particular interest in the Live Oak community where existing oaks, magnolia, and hickory trees extend to the actual bluff edges.

The Saltwater Marsh community contains a habitat for several State and Federal listed wading birds including the least tern, least bittern, yellow-crowned night heron, reddish egret, snowy egret, tri-colored heron, brown pelican, bald eagle, and the white ibis. Both the least tern and the bald eagle are listed as Threatened (T) and the brown pelican, little blue heron, reddish egret, and tricolor heron are listed as Species of Special Concern (SSC) by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC). The Live Oak / Upland Temperate Hammock, consisting of large pines lying along the western bluff of Moultrie Creek, provides nesting and/or roosting sites for several State and Federally listed species including the bald eagle, peregrine falcon, and osprey. The Oak / Pine Forest Community currently has two inactive gopher tortoise burrows. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) lists the gopher tortoise as a Species of Special Concern (SSC).