One goal of the County’s Department of Environmental Resources Management
(ERM) is to preserve, monitor and maintain the County’s native biological
communities, encouraging the highest possible environmental quality and best
long-term stewardship practices. To reach that goal, ERM took a leading role
in the development of the County’s natural areas program. In 1991 and
1999 Palm Beach County voters approved a total of $250 million in bond funds
for the purchase of lands for conservation purposes. Of this total, $100 million
was earmarked for the purchase and conservation of agricultural lands in the
County’s Agricultural Reserve. The remaining funds were used to purchase
more than 30,000 acres of environmentally sensitive lands that are owned or
leased by the County and managed as natural areas by ERM. The natural areas
targeted for purchase were selected on the basis of their biological characteristics
and were acquired to preserve the rare and diverse native ecosystems present
on these sites and the endangered, threatened, and rare species of plants and
animals that live there.
There are 12 natural areas with public use facilities which include a small
parking lot, an ADA-accessible trail, hiking trails, and an informational kiosk.
The natural areas are open from sunrise to sunset, seven days a week including
holidays, for passive use recreation such as hiking, bird watching, nature study,
photography, environmental education and scientific research.
Find a Natural Area
Natural
Areas Ordinance No. 94-13
Coastal Resources