Work to Start on Jupiter’s Fullerton Island
Fullerton Island is getting a makeover. Workers will start removing nonnative vegetation on the town-owned island in Jupiter this month in preparation for the new nature preserve for small boats and kayaks.The county plans to not only remove vegetation such as Australian pines and Brazilian pepper, but they will also grade the island to a level for wetland preservation. This will promote growth for native plants and increase water flow. About 3,000 knee-high mangrove seedlings will be planted on the 12-acre island just west of Burt Reynolds Park.
“We’re restoring a vital natural area with mangroves and other native plants that will draw birds and be a nursery for sea life,” said Julie Bishop, an environmental program supervisor with Palm Beach County Environmental Resources Management.
The improvements to Fullerton Island are part of the increased emphasis on ecotourism in northern Palm Beach County. Included with the improvements to the island, a new dive and kayak rental business is expected to open in the old Quarterdeck restaurant location on Indiantown Road, which is across from Fullerton Island.
Also included in the $2.1 million project will be a daytime public dock for about six small motorized boats and a water taxi that will allow non-boaters access to a covered picnic area on the island. The project is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2014.
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