JILONA
Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area
In May of 2008, 120 acres surrounding the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse was designated by Congress and signed into law by President Bush as the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area (JILONA), one of only three in the country. As a unit of the National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS) – the only one east of the Mississippi – this site is protected in perpetuity by the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management. This legislation reflects the site’s unique collaborative administration, naming local partners in addition to the BLM and United Stated Coast Guard. These include: the Loxahatchee River Historical Society (LRHS), Palm Beach County, the Town of Jupiter and the Village of Tequesta. Other partners include Jupiter Inlet Colony and Jupiter High School’s Environmental Field Studies Research Academy.
The BLM’s mission for the NLCS is to conserve, protect and restore nationally significant landscapes with outstanding cultural, ecological and scientific values for the benefit of current and future generations. Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area was chosen as a unit of the NLCS due to its unique blend of nature and culture including 5,000 years of astounding history. We hope that you will share the NLCS mission that brings people together to share stewardship of the land and the rich human heritage of this site.
Manatee at the JILONA shoreline
Our goal at JILONA is to help visitors understand, appreciate, and personally connect to this site’s distinct “history shaped by nature” and to inspire protection of the cultural and natural resources here and on other NLCS units.
Be sure to visit the new ADA-accessible Nature Trial on the north side of Beach Road that meanders through Florida Scrub habitat and leads to an observation tower overlooking a quiet manatee refuge surrounded by red mangroves. Visitors are encouraged to bring their cameras and binoculars for exceptional flora and fauna sightings.
Directions
Jupiter High School Environmental Research and Field Studies
The ONA has served as an outdoor classroom for the Jupiter High School Environmental Research and Field Studies Academy (JERFSA) since 1996. The ONA is a designated “Hands on the Land” site, a Department of the Interior program which links similar outdoor classrooms across the nation to share information about their local ecosystems; as well as creative thinking strategies.