Welcome to Hobe Sound NWR

Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge, was established September 30, 1969. It is a coastal refuge bisected by the Indian River Lagoon into two separate tracts of land totaling over 1000 acres. The 735 acre Jupiter Island tract provides some of the most productive sea turtle nesting habitat in the United States, and the 300 acre sand pine scrub mainland tract is valued because more than 90 percent of this community type has been lost to development in Florida. Sand pine scrub habitat is restricted only to Florida and an adjacent county in Alabama.

Events and News...

Holiday Hours:  Refuge administrative offices will be closed on February 20 (Washington's Birthday). Refuge lands are open to approved uses including wildife observation, wildlife photography, fishing, and to envrionmental education and interpretation during daylight hours unless otherwise posted. The Jupiter Island Beach access area is a fee collection area where fees are collected for vehicle parking. Please refer to the fee collection sign located next to the entrance booth for fee details.

Fee Free Days:  To encourage Americans to explore America’s natural beauty, rich history and culture, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced fee free days in 2012. On these fee-free days and weekends, national wildlife refuges that charge a fee (Hobe Sound NWR Beach included)– as well as other public lands within the Department of the Interior – will waive entrance fees.  Here are the Fee Free days in 2012.

• January 14-16 (Martin Luther King Jr. weekend),
• June 9 (Get Outdoors Day),
• September 29 (National Public Lands Day),
• October 14 (in recognition of national wildlife refuge week) and
• November 10-12 (Veterans Day weekend).

Prescribed Fire:  This past winter, Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge planned to burn about 20 acres of Refuge lands south of the South Martin Regional Utility’s southern water treatment facility.  The prescribed burn was aimed to maintain scrub habitat and help protect the water treatment facility as well as our Hobe Sound neighborhoods from the threat of unwanted wildfire.  Unfavorable weather conditions prevented fire managers from conducting a safe burn.  The Refuge will continue to monitor fire weather conditons and may conduct a prescribed fire when conditions improve.

Prescribed fire is very cost effective, reduces invasive woody vegetation, and helps to preserve rare and endemic plant and animal communities.  In the event of a wildfire, heavy fuel loads make firefighting risky and much more difficult to protect community infrastructure such as water supplies and utilities, as well as nearby homes and businesses.

Credit: USFWS

       Credit: USFWS

Least Terns Nesting:   A large colony of least terns are nesting just north of the northern Peck Lake beach crossing on the Refuge's Jupiter Island Tract.  The Refuge has closed the nesting area to all public access until the terns complete their nesting cycle this summer.  The closed area is clearly marked with posts, signage and orange string.   Each nest is important as populations of beach-nesting birds are declining due to significant beach modification and human disturbance throughout their range.  The fate of each nest is truely critical to the survival of these birds so please keep your distance and respect the posted areas. Least terns are protected under Federal (Migratory Bird Treaty Act) and State law (68A-27.004). 

Getting There . . .

The headquarters for the refuge is located on the mainland portion of the refuge on U.S. Federal Highway 1, two miles south of Bridge Road (State Road 708) and it is located 20 miles north of West Palm Beach in Martin County, Florida. At the headquarters you can visit an exhibit room, gift shop, environmental education classroom, and walk a short nature trail. The nonprofit Hobe Sound Nature Center, the refuge's cooperating association, operates the exhibit room, gift shop, and classroom. With more than 121,000 visitors a year, children of all ages learn about the beauty of these unique Florida environments and participate in turtle walks, summer camps, evening forums, and scrub tours. For additional information about the Nature Center programs please call 772-546-2067. To contact the refuge manager call 772-546-6141.

Prohibited Activites . . .

Please keep in mind that the refuge prohibits certain activites, including but not limited to:

• -Dogs or other pets on the Refuge managed beach area of Jupiter Island. Pets on leashes are permitted on our headquarter area trails including the Intracoastal Waterway access trail; 
• -Feeding, enticing, or disturbing any wildlife; 
• -Taking of turtles, turtle eggs, or any other wildlife of any kind; 
• -Release of any wild or domestic animal;
• -Motorcycles, ATVs, or other motorized vehicles of any type; 
• -Nudity;
• -Fires of any type; 
• -Use of metal detectors of any type 

Please call the Refuge Headquarters at 772-546-6141 for clarification or if you have any questions about activities that are prohibited on the Refuge