NIMBYs use sea turtles to keep gas stations, bars and grocery stores out of their neighborhood
A small Florida beach town is using a rather novel way to take on developers who want to build on their land - and has been successful at keeping them at bay so far.
Locals on Southern Brevard County's barrier island have united in a grassroots revolt to stop overdevelopment, using native sea turtles to keep big business out.
The sleepy 25-mile stretch of pristine Atlantic shoreline is miles from the glitz of Miami but has been under threat by deep-pocketed developers looking to build luxury hotels, gas stations and giant grocery stores on the land.
Life on the island has been mostly untouched, as residents stroll on windswept beaches lined with nesting sea turtles and bungalow-style beach homes. There are no high-rise hotels or sprawling vacation resorts.
But developers keep poking around, looking for any opportunity to build a beachfront property that would essentially destroy life - and the famous home of tens of thousands of nesting sea turtles - as the islanders know it.
This all started back in October 2022, when county commissioners quietly voted to approve four new homes to be built on a humble parcel of natural land that would wipe out a turtle hatching area. Residents fought back, knowing it would only lead to more and more construction and the death of the natural environment they love.
At a town hall held at the time, Mark Shantzis, a local and the former executive director of the Barrier Islands Preservation and Protection Association (BIPPA), said that if the homes were built, the area would soon look like Miami Beach.
He told local news station WLRN: 'We could fight back.'
A small Florida beach town is taking on developers who want to build on their land, and have been successful at keeping them at bay as of now
Southern Brevard County's barrier island locals have united in a grassroots revolt to stop overdevelopment, using native sea turtles, which nest here, to keep big business out
In 2022, county commissioners quietly voted to approve four new homes to be built on a humble parcel of natural land that would wipe out the turtles' hatching area
So he helped bring the community together to preserve the island using BIPPA and its grassroots efforts.
The group was so successful at lobbying against developers by distributing flyers, offering workshops on the turtles, and speaking at town halls that they got the state's attention.
It quickly secured one of the strongest protections placed on a Florida barrier island in four decades, ensuring that area construction is extremely limited going forward.
The battle is a textbook case of what critics call NIMBYism — short for ‘Not In My Backyard.’ The term is often used to describe residents who oppose new housing or infrastructure near their homes, sometimes accused of protecting property values at the expense of growth.
Islanders reject that label, arguing their fight is not about blocking people, but about preserving a fragile ecosystem that cannot be replaced once it is lost.
Beth Glover, president of BIPPA, told local news: 'It was up to us to make sure nothing gets passed that destroys our barrier island.'
Shantzis, Glover and a crew of neighbors are still fighting daily to defend the area, the goal being to limit development and protect the natural world that makes their home unique.
It's a local drama unfolding with small-town winners in a state where developers usually get what they want - and where reptiles really did become the unlikely savior.
The Brevard shoreline is said to be among the most important loggerhead and green sea turtle nesting sites in the country, where tens of thousands of endangered hatchlings emerge each year. Residents take the nesting season very seriously and consider it crucial to preserving the environment.
It's a local drama unfolding with small-town winners in a state where developers usually get what they want - and where sea turtles really did become the unlikely savior
The area now has one of the strongest protections placed on a Florida barrier island in four decades, ensuring that area construction is extremely limited going forward and the area maintains its beauty
State legislators introduced a plan to designate this strip of land an area of critical state concern, a rare and powerful protection reserved for Florida's most endangered landscapes
According to the local Loggerhead Marinelife Center: 'Every year, Florida's coastline becomes a sanctuary for one of the ocean's most beloved creatures—the sea turtle.
'These gentle navigators return to familiar shores during nesting season, quietly continuing a rhythm that has played out for millions of years. But in today's world, the nearshore waters that once protected them have become dangerous spaces.'
Locals laid out what would have likely happened. Their beach shacks would be in the shadows of brand new condos and high-rise hotels, their beaches packed with tourists, the dark sky polluted by bright lights that would disorient the nesting turtles and drive them to their deaths.
They knew their one shot was pushing for the safety of the turtles.
In 2022, state legislators introduced a plan to designate the strip of land an area of critical state concern, a rare and powerful protection reserved for Florida's most endangered landscapes.
It passed unanimously. In June 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed the measure into law, which locals considered a triumph.
But the battle wasn't over. Developers are still poking around, leaving residents on guard and ready to fight yet again.
With sea turtles still nesting and dunes still shifting with every tide, locals are on high alert for their patterns.
Developers are still poking around the pristine beaches, leaving residents on guard and ready to fight yet again
The Barrier Island Sanctuary Management and Education Center, located in the heart of the Archie Carr Refuge, a major nesting site for sea turtles, teaches classes and offers tours to help people understand the reptiles and their hatching season
With sea turtles still nesting and dunes still shifting with every tide, residents are on high alert to their patterns and strive to preserve the natural beauty of the island
As the human population on Brevard County’s coast continues to grow the Barrier Island Center will play an increasingly important role in protecting the fragile barrier island from developers hoping to use all the land
They have asked the state to review an updated plan of specific requirements for the Brevard Barrier Island area of critical state concern to make sure it stays up to date to protect the land from uncontrolled development.
They have also asked to include feedback from locals.
Stacey Gallagher, development and policy coordinator for the Sea Turtle Conservancy, said, per NPR: 'Numerous changes need to be made to this draft, to account for the expertise that you've been given, the hundreds of comments made by the public. They need to be incorporated.
'The whole intention of an area of critical [state] concern is to stop upzoning an area that is a very critical environment.'
For now, the Barrier Island Sanctuary Management and Education Center, located in the heart of the Archie Carr Refuge, a major nesting site for sea turtles, teaches classes and offers tours to help people understand the reptiles and their hatching season.
The group said: 'As the human population on Brevard County’s coast continues to grow, the Barrier Island Center will play an increasingly important role in protecting the fragile barrier island and its globally important sea turtle nesting beaches.'
