Group tries to protect Jupiter Inlet resources

Jupiter Inlet Foundation’s first step is to preserve area’s sensitive seagrass beds.

A new nonprofit, the Jupiter Inlet Foundation, has lofty goals to preserve the Jupiter Inlet’s natural and historical treasures.

JUPITER — A new nonprofit has lofty goals to preserve the Jupiter Inlet’s natural and historical treasures. The first step: protecting the area’s sensitive seagrass beds.

The Jupiter Inlet Foundation began last summer after a group of five “like-minded individuals” came together concerned about the future of Jupiter Inlet’s resources, said board President MB Hague.

“We feel like they’re all slipping away,” Hague said about the resources. “Banding together and forming a foundation was going to give a stronger voice to citizen advocacy. Somebody needed to do something.”

The inlet’s southern shoreline, near the former site of Suni Sands Mobile Home Park, lacks buoys and markers that warn boaters of the presence of seagrass, Hague said. Boats can be harmful to seagrass beds, as propellers can leave sandy bottom scars in their wake.

Not only do seagrasses help improve water quality and clarity but they provide habitat and food to marine life. Johnson’s seagrass, the first and only marine plant protected by the Endangered Species Act, is found in the inlet.

In the short term, the foundation wants to set up

informational buoys not to prevent boaters from traveling in the area but to bring attention to what lies below. The buoys would have wording to indicate the presence of the endangered seagrass, Hague said.

The foundation would like Jupiter Inlet to be included into the Loxahatchee River-Lake Worth Creek Aquatic Preserve, she said. The 1,800acre area encompasses the waters of the north, northwest and southwest forks of the Loxahatchee River, but doesn’t extend east of the U.S. 1 bridge.

Jupiter Inlet’s inclusion in the preserve would allow the state to come up with a management plan for the seagrass, Hague said. But to get this accomplished, she said, it’s going to take legislative muscle in addition to working with local, state and federal organizations.

Jupiter Inlet District, the independent special taxing district tasked with maintaining the inlet and making sure it’s navigable, is one of those interested parties. District Chairman George Gentile said he met with the foundation’s members and is interested in learning more about their plans.

“I appreciate what they’re doing, and I think we’ll weigh in,” he said.

The inlet was once home to Native American tribes, as evident from their tools, pottery and fabric dating back at least 5,000 years ago, Hague said. Making sure these artifacts, as well as natural resources, are preserved is part of the foundation’s mission. The Jobe and Jeaga were the tribes that called the area home, according to the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum.

Hague said she believes some Jupiter residents may be apathetic about protecting the town’s features because they don’t think it’s possible. But she pointed to the successful push to make the Jupiter Lighthouse an Outstanding Natural Area and National Monument, so she thinks anything is possible.

“This is why we’re down here,” Hague said. “What’s in the water and seeing the water is why we’re down here in Florida.”

Those interested in volunteering for the foundation can learn more about it during a 6:30 p.m. meeting this evening at Old Town Hall, 1000 Town Hall Ave. Volunteers could be involved in a variety of tasks including outreach, fundraising and working to get support from universities and other environmental groups.