ABOUT THE CITO
We will meet in the parking lot (posted coordinates) by the entrance to Lighthouse Park.
PBC ERM usually provides some water and small snacks, but it has been a brutally hot summer so I recommend also bringing your own bottle of water for plenty of hydration! Sunscreen, a hat, closed-toed shoes, and clothes you don't mind getting dirty are all good ideas. Also, long pants will help you avoid getting scratched up by some of the scrubby plants. ERM will provide work gloves.
ABOUT THE PROPERTY
Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area (JILONA) is a 120-acre property that started in 1854 as Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Reservation. The property includes the namesake lighthouse which has been active since 1860. It has also been home to an Army telegraph and signal station, a Weather Bureau station, a Navy radio station (with Marine guards), a Coast Guard base, an Air Force monitoring station, and LORAN tower.
The property is now owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and is part of their National Conservation Lands System (NCLS). Palm Beach County Environment Resources Management (PBC ERM), the Town of Jupiter, the Village of Tequesta, the Loxahatchee River Historical Society (LRHS), and the Coast Guard are all involved in the area's management. JILONA is one of only three Outstanding Natural Areas in the entire country (the others are in California and Oregon). To receive this Federal designation, a property must be at least 100 acres in size and include both a lighthouse and a natural area.