Keewaydin Island is a primary
barrier island
Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from ...
located off the coast of
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, in
Collier County, Florida
Collier County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 375,752; an increase of 16.9% since the 2010 United States Census. Its county seat is East Naples, where the county offices were moved from E ...
, United States. It can be reached only by boat.
It is managed by the State of Florida's Coastal Office, in cooperation with
NOAA, within the
Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
Rookery Bay Reserve protects 110,000 acres of coastal lands and waters at the northern end of the Ten Thousand Islands on the gulf coast of Florida, ''Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve'' represents one of the few remaining undisturbe ...
. Keewaydin Island is monitored nightly for
Loggerhead turtle
The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around in carapace length when fully ...
nesting activity by
The Conservancy of Southwest Florida.
The Keewaydin Island shoreline has been mapped annually since 1997 in an effort to document shoreline change. The shoreline is also mapped after significant storm events. Mapping is done by collecting
Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...
locations along the dune-line and then downloaded using
Geographic information system software.
History
Originally, the island was named Kee Island. It became part of the Keewaydin Camps Ltd. corporation and was later known as Keewaydin Island. The island is currently about 85% public property and 15% private. Approximately 50 private lots and 15 private homes dot the island, located on the west side of the island close to the beachfront.
Marco Island
Marco may refer to:
People
* Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco
* Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor
* Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin
* Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish ...
can be seen from the southern tip of Keewaydin.
Keewaydin Island is a barrier island in Florida that has no cars, roads, or bridges. It had a history of being the next developable barrier island, after Marco Island to the south was developed in the 1950s, 1960s, and onward. During the late 1950s and early 60s when the government was planning a road and bridge out to the island, 1,000 local residents signed a petition to stop the road and any future commercial development. They wanted to avoid the pattern on barrier islands at the time, such as
Fort Myers Beach, where local residents were 85% against dense development, but zoning laws and large property owners held sway. In fact, high density high rise structures line the shores on most barrier islands in Florida, except notable places like Keewaydin, where the environmentalist movement finally got enough momentum to stop the bridge to the island. As a result, Keewaydin remains primitive, with the only infrastructure being dirt pathways connecting the private docks on the eastern side to the houses on the western beach side. Locals and visitors can relish the experience of a visit to a pristine barrier island and its ecosystem.
Most commonly known for the south tip of the island, where local boaters congregate at the end of the 8 mile long isthmus, where they can park their boat on the shore and enjoy people watching and the beach and scenery.
There are 12 homes on the island, and 50 lots, with the most famous house belonging at one time to James Biden, President Joe Biden's brother, who would occasionally visit. The "Biden Bungalow", as the house was known, was sold in 2018 for $1.35 million.
Wildlife
The island is included in the
Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
Rookery Bay Reserve protects 110,000 acres of coastal lands and waters at the northern end of the Ten Thousand Islands on the gulf coast of Florida, ''Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve'' represents one of the few remaining undisturbe ...
. Mammals such as
wild boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...
,
bobcat, and
white-tailed deer
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...
live on the island. The
gopher tortoise
The gopher tortoise (''Gopherus polyphemus'') is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is native to the southeastern United States. The gopher tortoise is seen as a keystone species because it digs burrows that provide ...
, which is threatened by habitat destruction, finds sanctuary on this island, aside from the invasive
iguana
''Iguana'' (, ) is a genus of herbivorous lizards that are native to tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. The genus was first described in 1768 by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in his ...
which feeds on the tortoise's eggs.
See also
*
Keewaydin Club
*
Marco Island
Marco may refer to:
People
* Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco
* Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor
* Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin
* Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish ...
*
Rookery Bay
References
*http://nerrs.noaa.gov/images/pdf/2001_storm.pdf
{{authority control
Gulf Coast barrier islands of Florida
Islands of Collier County, Florida
Islands of Florida