The Ecological Station Juréia Itatins a long process of mobilization of the public opinion for its preservation was instituted after 1986. Per three decades, it was object of legal instruments that took care of the most varied interests, but nor always to the ones of ambient protection. The State Decree number 31,650, of 8 of April of 1958 instituted the State Reserve of the Itatins, in an area of 12.058 hectares of vacant declared lands in the Atlantic source of the mountainous area of the Mountain range of the Itatins, allowing the preservation of Atlantic Forest in this area.
In many next areas, in the South coast of São Paulo, good part of this original vegetation was destroyed; therefore, they were not in protecting places. The region of the Mountain range of the Juréia is one of the points, otherwise the most preserved point of São Paulo coast. Had to the high degree of preservation where it finds, this region almost possess 2/3 of last 5% of primitive vegetal covering that still remains in the State of São Paulo, concentrating 40% of primitive vegetation of the area of all the units of conservation of the State. Protected for the Mountain range of the Itatins has a great alluvial plain where, in some places mounts arise, being the most raised Juréia.
The access difficulty guaranteed its preservation. This set of ecosystems, that practically remains untouchable throughout 50 Km of the coast, still keeps all characteristic wild animals and, if it presents as in describe beauty. Some years later, the area of the Bulk of the mountain range was donated to the Secretariat of the Environment for a real estate enterprise, which intended to implant an ecological land division, of high standard, to the edges of the Green River. This took people to pledge in the preservation of the Bulk of the Juréia. In 12 of December of 1977, through the Resolution number 11 of the Advice of Defense of the Historic site, Artistic and Touristic (CONDEPHAAT) of the Secretariat of Culture of the State, the falling of the Bulk of the Juréia, registered was declared as cultural area of scenic and scientific interest, and also the Green River, of the source to the estuary, thus allowing the preservation of the ecosystem and associates. The real estate enterprise was cancelled, a time that the Brazilian Company Nuclebrás S/A decided to construct in the region the nuclear plants Iguape 4 and 5, decreeing still, that the environment of nuclear plants would start to be Ecological Stations. In 4 of June of 1980, ahead of the threat of ambient degradation that was coming, the EEJI was declared of public utility through Federal Decree n º 84,771, for the construction of the Plants, in an area of 23.600 hectares, including all the Bulk of the Juréia. At this time, the Nuclebrás already was carrying through in the area research, improving the roads, carrying through homeland, making bridges and placing a raft in the river to join. After some years, the Nuclebrás gave up generating nuclear energy in the line of the coast of the State of São Paulo and, consequently, ahead it did not take the dispossession of the land. Finally, in 20 of January of 1986, through Decree n º 24,646, the Government of the State established the EEJI definitively, with about 79.270 hectares. After that, º 5,649 of 28 of April of 1987 edited Law, ratifying the creation of the Station. The area of surrounding ambient preservation to the station encloses in this region all the hydrographical basin of the river joins of the prelate. In the EEJI, they inhabit several caiçaras, that still they preserve its culture, forms of production and subsistence, with a very refined knowledge of the nature. Its population density is very low and therefore its presence does not arrive to intervene of destructive form with the nature.
The human occupation being in the area retraces to century XVIII, initially for black, aboriginal, and descending populations of Europeans. In the period of settling, in the search for gold, the Portuguese had used the Track of the Emperor, who runs until today through the region connecting São Vicente and the Village of Cananéia. Later, the same track received telegraphic poles, that were used to transmit messages in Morse code of the War of Paraguay at the time, and that she was known as the Track of the Telegraph.
In the language Tupi-Guarani, Juréia means point (promontory) and Itatins salient, rock nose (rocky salience).
Many scientific researches in the EEJI since 1981 are developed, mainly for the University of São Paulo (USP) and State University of Campinas (UNICAMP).
Although to have its creation supported for Law since 1986, and with nucleus of activities of research being functioned, the integral conservation of the Ecological Station of the Juréia not yet total is assured, therefore most of the lands that would have to be dispossessed had not its regularized agrarian situation. Moreover, it has difficulties in raising deep for the payment of these dispossessions.