In 1996, eighty-six acres surrounding the picturesque Jupiter lighthouse in northern Palm Beach County, Florida, reverted to the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM's) jurisdiction after more than 100 years of use by the U.S. Coast Guard. The BLM joined forces with the Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management, the South Florida Water Management District, and other local partners to manage this "island" of scrub, mangroves, and tropical hardwoods.

Sensitive vegetative communities and the presence of 18 special-status plant and animal species prompted designation of the northern portion of the tract as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern in 1995. Florida scrub jay, gopher tortoise, and two endangered plants were the primary target species, but there are a host of plants and animals that are dependent on the rapidly disappearing Florida scrub found at Jupiter Inlet. Exotic species control and the reintroduction of fire to the ecosystem were top priorities for BLM.

The Jupiter Inlet wetlands construction project was completed in December 1999, just in time for the new millennium. The two-year, $120,000 project has resulted in a new two-acre tidal wetland; once, only high dredge-spoil piles stood in this area, choked with exotic Australian pine and Brazilian pepper. Within a month of opening the channel to the Indian River, the Indian River Lagoon's waters were crystal-clear. The lagoon has since become a favorite haunt for osprey, and shore birds, and is already serving as a nursery for myriad fish carried in by the adjacent Indian River.

Initially proposed in the Jupiter Inlet Coordinated Resource Management Plan (CRMP), the wetland project was given its major impetus by two grants totaling $70,000 from the South Florida Water Management District. These grants were matched by $50,000 in BLM funds through the Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Then Palm Beach County, BLM's management partner, went to work!

Most of the larger native plants within the construction area were successfully moved, including 20-foot- tall strangler figs, State-protected leather ferns, and several large cabbage palms. Thousands of mangrove seedlings potted by volunteers on National Public Lands Day were planted as part of two Eagle Scout projects and by members of the Jupiter High School Environmental Research and Field Studies Academy. The remainder of the plantings ($27,000 in plant material) was completed by the construction contractor.

The opening to the Indian River has been signed and chained to close the area to motorized boats in compliance with the resource plan. Canoes and kayaks are welcome. The crowning glory for this project will be to one day see manatees regularly browsing here, on a very unique tract of public land.

An Award-Winning Project

The Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management, a BLM partner in the wetland project, will receive the Secretary of the Interior's "Legacy of the Land" award in April for its contributions.

Jupiter Inlet will once again be a National Public Lands Day site in 2000!!

Want to help with restoration of this very special area? Volunteer for National Public Lands Day (NPLD), the nation's premier event on behalf of our public lands! This year's date is September 23, 2000. At Jupiter Inlet -- one of 47 Bureau of Land Management sites that will be hosting NPLD activities -- volunteers will be restoring habitat and removing exotic vegetation. During NPLD 1997, for example, volunteers at Jupiter Inlet removed several hundred exotic Australian pine and potted almost 7,600 mangroves. For more information on participating in this year's NPLD event at Jupiter Inlet, please contact Faye Winters, the site's NPLD coordinator, at e-mail Faye_Winters@blm.gov or telephone (601) 977-5431.

For more information on Jupiter Inlet, please visit the BLM Jackson Field Office website: http://www.es.blm.gov/programs/land/jupiter/index.html .

This page was created by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Environmental Education & Volunteers Group, 1849 C Street, Room 406-LS, Washington, DC 20240. Send comments or questions relating to accessibilty of documents to Kevin_Flynn@blm.gov Number of visitors since July 15, 2003:[an error occurred while processing this directive]

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