ROOKERY BAY NATIONAL ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVE
Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve is managed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in partnership with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, Florida International University and the National Estuarine Research Reserve Association.
Rookery Bay Research Reserve co-manages portions of the Ten Thousand Islands Aquatic Preserve with the Florida Panther and Ten Thousand Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex. We also partner with resource management agencies in our region.
In the 1960’s, with farms, buildings, roads and canals springing up across coastal Collier County, residents started to take notice that the once pristine bays and estuaries were showing the effects of development upstream. A 10-mile loop road through Rookery Bay proposed in 1963 would have opened up unbounded opportunities for coastal development, but a new perspective emerged in the community.
The Collier County Conservancy, the National Audubon Society, and the Nature Conservancy galvanized community support that resulted in more than $600,000 being raised to buy 3,362 acres of land that would have been otherwise destroyed. This land ultimately became the Rookery Bay Sanctuary, prompting the birth of a legacy.
Our local, state and national partnerships ensure priority coastal management issues, including environmental change, water quality and habitat protection, are addressed across research, education, conservation and coastal training programs.
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