Lake Osborne is important to Palm Beach County for transporting, processing, and storing stormwater and serving as a water supply reservoir.

In addition, John Prince Park, located along the western shoreline of Lake Osborne's north and central lobe, offers an ecotourism destination for visitors seeking a natural experience where they can enjoy and learn about this ecosystem.

Due to development, vegetated littoral areas in and adjacent to Lake Osborne have been reduced to a fragment of their original size.

The lake shorelines predominantly consist of bare sand or mowed grass and exotic and/or invasive vegetation.

John Prince Park maintains a lawn like appearance for the majority of the shorelines of Lake Osborne.