After years of discussion, in March 2025, the Naples Airport Authority (NAA) authorized a high level in-house study to help elected officials and the public decide whether it would be possible or prudent to relocate the Naples Airport to unincorporated Collier County, while acknowledging none of the four specific sites identified in an earlier exploratory study would be appropriate. While the Conservancy takes no position regarding the question of whether the airport should be relocated in the future, we were extremely concerned when we learned of the areas being considered in this study.
In 2023, the NAA engaged Environmental Science Associates (ESA) to prepare an exploratory study for the Naples Airport. Four unincorporated Collier County sites were identified as possible relocation sites. Unfortunately, all four sites would have unacceptable levels of environmental impacts. In addition, another site, Picayune Strand State Forest, an Everglades Restoration project, was proposed during the September 2023 NAA Board of Commissioners meeting. The Conservancy was there with a clear message – airports and Everglades Restoration do not mix.
The 55,000 acres of Picayune Strand, formally called Southern Golden Gate Estates, were painstakingly purchased by the State, approximately 19,000 lots from 17,000 owners, during the 1980s and 1990s, for the purpose of hydrologic restoration. This was the first Everglades Restoration project to turn dirt and it has been ongoing for years, with a completion date in the near future.
Everglades Restoration, including Picayune Strand, is a collaborative partnership between the South Florida Water Management District and the US Army Corps of Engineers. From the Conservancy’s perspective, one would be hard pressed to find a less appropriate location to consider for an airport, and the concept runs afoul of this Congressionally-approved Everglades Restoration project.
Fortunately, the Picayune Strand State Forest was rejected as a potential airport relocation site by the Naples Airport Authority and their consultant in August 2024. At a joint meeting with the Naples Airport Authority and Naples City Council in November 2024, we shared our concerns regarding not just Picayune Strand, but also the four sites identified by ESA for further consideration, in a white paper that can be read here.
The Conservancy appreciates the thoughtful consideration that the Naples Airport Authority Board of Commissioners and their staff gave to this issue and their ultimate determination not to pursue exploration of any of the four identified sites, or Picayune Strand, for a new airport. Their decision to instead look at a non-site-specific level at the costs and procedures that would be involved in airport relocation seems much more prudent.