Show up & discover.
Join iNaturalist to share your images from Jetta Point and the surrounding trail area.
Jetta Point iNaturalist group ↗SAVE JETTA POINT
A future like this
takes neighbors.
Bring your curiosity, a story, or a skill. There is a place for you in this community effort.
THIS IS A COMMUNITY EFFORT
A future like this
takes neighbors.
Have a skill to share? Communications, neighborhood outreach, wildlife knowledge, and water expertise can all help. Ask the community group about current opportunities.
FIND YOUR WAY TO HELP
Start with
what you know.
Volunteer to do a lot or to do a little or just to stay informed. We respect your wishes and have a role for everyone.
Share local knowledge.
Contribute dated flooding photographs, neighborhood history, wildlife records, or experience in drainage and transportation.
Connect with the group ↗
Help tell the story.
Help with outreach, communications, public records, or organizing community input. Ask the group which roles currently need support.
Offer your skills ↗A FEW GOOD QUESTIONS
Before you
head out.
Is Jetta Point an approved nature park I can visit?
Jetta Point Preserve is a community proposal. This website is a grassroots community resource and does not represent an official county initiative or an approved park plan. Jetta Point was listed among county natural lands until recently and has been used for hiking and bird-watching for years, but unfortunately it has recently been posted with No Trespassing signs. Please obey the law, but you can still observe the eagles and other wildlife from the Cross Seminole Trail and the Black Hammock Trailhead.
I’ve heard the eagles’ nest is “defunct” or “empty.” Are the eagles still active in the area?
Yes! While you may not see eagles in the nests all the time, fall is a good time because breeding and nesting season has begun. Eagles and their nests are protected by federal law. Whether an eagle is in a nest at any given moment doesn’t matter. Because they use multiple nests and may not sit on the nests all the time, the law protects the nests themselves, as well as the birds. We ask any observers to respect the birds’ peace and safety.
Is Jetta Point important as a piece of natural land?
Definitely. Although it sits beside FL 417, it serves as a stepping-stone in the nature corridors that allow us to live peacefully with our wildlife. Without it we would likely see more incursions close to our homes of bears, boars, foxes, and coyotes, and in addition to the bald eagles, it supports countless other bird, reptile, butterfly, and plant species. It also contains wetlands that help mitigate flooding to surrounding areas, and it buffers east Winter Springs from noise and pollution from FL 417.
What is the most important thing I can do to help save Jetta Point?
Communicate with your county and city commissioners, as well as the mayors of Winter Springs and Oviedo. Be aware of the commissions’ meeting agendas and be willing to attend a meeting to express your opinions. Share information with your neighbors about Jetta Point and our efforts to preserve it. If you experience flooding on your property and you live along the Cross Seminole Trail, report it to both city and county officials; request that they make a record of your call or email even if they do not send out a service team. If you have expertise or know of those who have expertise in hydrology, civil engineering, traffic engineering, land management, grant writing, real estate law, or conservation, please let us know. If you are willing to help in other ways, let us know that, too.