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The small barrier island of Keewaydin was the subject of an enormous debate last week when the Naples City Council announced their plan to write to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) requesting permission to annex the island.

In case you’re unfamiliar with the word “annex,” (you probably haven’t heard it since high school U.S. history class) it refers to the legal incorporation of one territory, usually a smaller or weaker one, into another. The term is rarely used these days for two reasons: First, because most annexable territories were claimed in a giant game of “dibs” that went down back in the 1800s, and second, because annexation like colonialism is, well, unpopular in this day and age.

Right here in Southwest Florida, however, annexation is staging a come back, and Keewaydin, the eight-mile spit of beach, mangrove and scrub located between Naples and Marco Island, is the territory in question.

Today, the island is largely undeveloped and is home to only a few private residents. The rest of the island is public land, with about 85 percent of the remaining territory under state control as part of the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.

As such, Keewaydin is a boater’s paradise. Accessible only by water, the island is home to many species of wildlife like piping plovers and black skimmers, and it is missing many of the signs of human inhabitation that have become ubiquitous on other Gulf Coast beaches. There are no docks, no trashcans, no bathrooms and most importantly no screaming children or grumpy snowbirds.

However, in the last year or so, a verbal tug of war over the island’s usage has ensued with Collier County, Naples City Council and local developer Jack Antaramian squabbling over the possible addition of visitor ferries, a private beach club and public bathrooms.



When the dust cleared (if you can call the current state of affairs “clear”) – virtually nothing had been decided. The City of Naples squashed the County’s eco-ferry/tourist-shuttle dreams. The County killed Antaramian’s private beach club and local residents huffed and puffed over the possible development and destruction of their tiny paradise.

Now, Naples City Council has a new proposition to add to the fray: annexation!

There’s that funny word again, but does this mean that Mayor Bill Barnett and company are going to put on their flip flops strike a flag into the Keewaydin sand? Doubtful. Still, the proposition has raised eyebrows and tempers, mostly because it’s uncertain what annexation would mean for the island and what it would mean for the people that love it. For many local residents, gut reaction to the City Council’s annexation suggestion can be summed up in a single word: “no.”

“The city wants to give Jack what he wants and run the rest of everyone out. The DEP owns most of the island, send a letter to Crist, and your state reps,” wrote Naplesnews.com user swampbuggy in response to a September 4th article announcing the city’s annexation plans.

“NO, NO, NO to annexation of Keewaydin Island!!!” wrote online user Colonel.

Another Naplesnews.com user posted a link to an online petition against the Keewaydin Island annexation and anti-annexation sentiments were echoed in an online poll posted on Coastalbeat.com and Naplesnews.com asking readers if they supported the city’s annexation bid. The results have been overwhelming: out of 230 total votes, 79 percent were against Keewaydin’s incorporation.

For many locals (albeit only those with access to water transportation), Keewaydin has been a source of pure, all natural joy, and they simply want to plead the status quo. But leaving the island as is may not be the answer people are looking for. As more and more locals and visitors discover and take advantage of the island’s beauty, more trash and waste appear on Keewaydin’s shorelines. Forget annexation. It is time for Department of Environmental Protection to step up, do its job and protect Keewaydin both from would be developers and from the people who love it most.