Two dates are posted for Weedon Island Preserve this fall. The first is on the County's park-updates page. A portion of the Bay Boardwalk is closed for repairs, and the work is expected to finish in late 2026. The second date is in a budget document. On September 24, the Pinellas County Commission adopted its Fiscal Year 2027 budget, and funding for Weedon Island and Shell Key preserves "was preserved for one year following strong public opposition to proposed cuts."
The repair date covers one stretch of boardwalk. The budget date covers everything else at 1800 Weedon Drive NE: the open trails, the reopened fishing pier, the Cultural and Natural History Center and its programs. For neighbors in Shore Acres, the preserve up the road is open and staffed this year because the money for it was restored late in the budget cycle. The commitment runs for one budget year.
Six weeks in which the preserve almost changed hands
The County administrator's office proposed the cut. The elected Commission reversed it. The sequence matters because the same reasoning could come back next year.
- August 7, 2026. Facing a $42 million shortfall, Pinellas County proposed Parks and Recreation cuts that included eliminating the Shell Key and Weedon Island preserves from the budget, St. Pete Catalyst reported. Paul Cozzie, Director of Parks and Conservation Resources, said the two were chosen because they are owned by the State and only maintained by the County, and that their staff would be reassigned.
- August 20. At a work session, county leaders floated using money set aside for a new county headquarters to fund both preserves for another year. Commissioner Chris Scherer told the Tampa Bay Times that "the Weedon Island proposal was very sudden, and caught a lot of people by surprise," and the paper reported that hundreds of residents had written to commissioners.
- September 10. At the first public budget hearing, commissioners voted to keep local funding for both preserves. WUSF reported that the restored amount was $555,000, reallocated from money set aside for future bond payments on the county administrative campus.
- September 24. The Commission adopted the final FY2027 budget with the preserve funding included for one year.
The County Administrator's memo, quoted by St. Pete Catalyst, split the $555,000 into $490,000 for the Parks Department and $65,000 for the Construction and Property Management Department. Under the original proposal, the preserves could have gone back to state control as early as January 1, 2027.
Why the lease turns one year into the real deadline
Pinellas County has managed Weedon Island since 1995 under a 50-year lease from the State. Then-Commissioner Barbara Sheen Todd pushed for that arrangement because she was concerned the land was not being adequately protected under state management. According to documents shared with St. Pete Catalyst, the lease can be ended with six months' notice, or at the start of any fiscal year in which the County does not appropriate money for upkeep.
That clause ties the preserve's future to each year's budget. The FY2027 appropriation means the County has funded the preserve's upkeep for this fiscal year. It does nothing for the year after. The Times described the one-year bridge as a way to give the County time to ask the region's state lawmakers for sustained state funding. Scherer told Catalyst his focus next year will be "to secure state funding for the continued operations of Weedon Island in perpetuity," and State Representative Linda Chaney has said she will advocate for that funding in Tallahassee.
Friends of Weedon Island, the nonprofit that supports the preserve, took the same measured view of the outcome. Its president, Bill Fehring, told Catalyst:
"We look forward to working with the County to identify longer-term solutions to fund the Preserve in future years, so that its many benefits to Pinellas County residents can continue."
What the funded year looks like on the ground
The money restored in September pays for the preserve as it stands now, and parts of it are still recovering. Below is the status of each named facility as of the County's October 15 update and the preserve's own pages.
| Facility | Status this fall | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Bay Boardwalk | Partly closed | Repairs expected to finish late 2026; the County has not named the affected section |
| Fishing pier | Open | Reopened May 23, 2025, after rehabilitation |
| Education Center boardwalk | Open | Rehabilitation completed in 2025 |
| Observation tower | On the west boardwalk loop | 45 feet tall, with views of Tampa Bay, St. Petersburg and Tampa on clear days |
| Boy Scout Loop | Trail | One-mile loop through pine flatwoods and hammocks, plus 1.7 miles of connecting trails |
| North paddling trail | Closed | No reopening date posted |
| South Paddling Trail | Open from the launch | Four-mile loop |
The current Bay Boardwalk closure and the 2025 rehabilitation are separate projects. The County's Weedon Island boardwalk and pier rehabilitation covered the fishing pier boardwalk from March to April 2025 and the Education Center boardwalk from April to May 2025, and it is marked complete. The Bay Boardwalk work came after it. The County's park-updates page is the place to check whether that section has reopened.
On the boardwalks and trails page, the preserve lists almost two miles of accessible boardwalk and pavement. A paved section passes the Cultural and Natural History Center and connects the two boardwalk loops. Anglers fishing from the pier and the outlying oyster bars go after sea trout, snook and sheepshead, according to the County. State saltwater fishing rules apply there, and shellfishing is prohibited.
The preserve is open daily from 7 a.m. to sunset and closes on the day after Thanksgiving and on December 25. The Center is open Thursday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is closed Monday through Wednesday and on County holidays. The trails are for day use only, and the preserve does not allow overnight parking.
On the water, the south loop is the only route
With the north trail closed, every self-guided paddle at Weedon runs on the four-mile South Paddling Trail, which starts at the paddling launch. The preserve names ECOmersion as its rental operator, with kayaks and stand-up paddleboards that can be booked online and vendor hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Rates change, so check current pricing on ECOmersion's Weedon Island rental page before going. That page also notes that drugs, alcohol and pets are prohibited at the preserve.
The rest of the calendar
The County preserve has kept its programs running through the budget debate. These are the remaining dates through the end of the year:
- Friday, October 30, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. "The Night Shift: Bats in Florida," listed on the preserve's programs page.
- Tuesday, November 10, 2 p.m. "Tarpon Talks: Weedon Island Preserve," a short film and talk by archaeologist and Friends president Dr. William Fehring. It takes place at the Tarpon Springs Heritage Museum, not at the preserve. The Friends of Weedon Island listing gives admission as $10 general and $7 for Tarpon Arts members.
- Saturday, November 21, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. "Ask a Master Gardener" at the preserve with UF/IFAS Pinellas County Master Gardeners. It is drop-in, with no registration required, per the UF/IFAS events calendar.
- Saturday, December 19, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The monthly Master Gardener drop-in, in the same format.
The 14th annual Gopher Weedon 8K Trail Run was scheduled for Saturday, October 24, and the County listed the preserve as closed until noon that day. The race is a Friends of Weedon Island event, and the Friends' events page lists its other gatherings.
During the August debate, Commissioner Kathleen Peters, whose district includes Weedon Island, called it "a true gem for Pinellas County." The FY2027 budget keeps County management in place for one year. Funding for the year after that will be decided in the next budget cycle, and possibly in Tallahassee.
At The Paragon Team, we follow how public budgets and long-term leases affect the places near the properties we steward. If you're tracking how decisions like Weedon Island's funding could affect northeast St. Petersburg, start the conversation.
