The Sanibel Report 2.0: Community Discussion

The Sanibel Report 2.0 marks the 50th anniversary of the original 1975 Sanibel Report, the natural-systems study that anchored the City of Sanibel’s founding comprehensive plan. Prepared by the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) in partnership with the FGCU Water School and regional scientists, the updated report revisits the ecological baseline established a half-century ago and evaluates how the island’s natural systems — and the pressures upon them — have changed.

Join us at the Bailey Homestead Preserve to learn what’s changed in the island’s ecosystems and how those changes affect the island's future.

The report's authors will present brief updates on their research areas, followed by a community discussion.

• James Evans, SCCF CEO

• Tom Ankersen, Ph.D., University of Florida Emeritus Law Professor

• Mike Savarese, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Coastal Geology, Climate Resilience, & Preparation, FGCU Water School

• Eric Milbrandt, Ph.D., SCCF Marine Lab Director

• Serge Thomas, Ph.D., Chair, Department of Ecology & Environmental Studies, FGCU Water School

• Brian Bovard, Ph.D., Associate Dean, FGCU Water School

• Kelly Sloan, SCCF Coastal Wildlife Director

• Chris Lechowicz, SCCF Wildlife & Habitat Management Director

The Sanibel Report 2.0 will help inform the City of Sanibel’s Sanibel Plan Update, ensuring continued protection of the barrier island’s unique and threatened land and water quality resources, its interior wetlands, beaches, and mangroves,

Other contributing authors include Matt DePaolis, SCCF Environmental Policy Director, Audrey Albrecht, SCCF Shorebird Biologist, and Mike Mills, SCCF Biologist. Once fully vetted, the report will be released to the public in spring 2027.

Come join the discussion and learn how the City of Sanibel and its island residents embarked on a largely unprecedented journey in 1975 to marry ecological science and urban planning into actionable local policy— at a time when both fields were coming into their own, and the City itself was just coming into being.

This effort turned Sanibel into a living laboratory for ensuring that humans and the ecosystems they inhabit coexist in relative harmony. While this story has been remarkable, much has changed over the past 50 years.