Much of the land surrounding the Creek came to be owned by the Lykes Brothers. The Lykes empire began in the 1880s when Dr. Howell Tyson Lykes began exporting cattle to Cuba. All seven of his sons went into the family cattle or shipping business, and today Lykes Brothers Inc is the largest producer of cattle and the biggest meat packer in Florida.
The Lykes family prohibited development along the Creek and ran a campground and a canoeing concession at Palmdale. They closed the area in 1989, and following a protracted legal battle, the State of Florida purchased an 18,272 acre corridor along the Creek which became the Fisheating Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA).
Today, the Fisheating Creek Outpost is operated by Cape Leisure Fisheating Creek, under a concession contract with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.