In 2010, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) declared more than 970 Canadian lighthouses surplus. At the same time, the Parks Canada Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act came into effect, simplifying the process for groups to acquire—and assume responsibility for preserving—lighthouses in their communities. In the preceding decades, preservation pioneers often spent years wading through federal bureaucracy, testing the limits of their faith, endurance and patience—simply for the chance to v...