Barrier Islands

Nature is coming for Florida’s barrier islands. Should we give some over?

Inhabited and uninhabited, barrier islands move. They will need fortification to survive predicted increases in sea level rise.

NASA and the city of Cape Canaveral are working with citizens on immediate and long-term solutions to sea-level rise.

Solar-powered Babcock Ranch came through Hurricane Ian with minimal damage and no flooding. Its developer believes it can inspire sustainable development in interior Florida.

From coyotes to gopher tortoises and beach mice, many animals make their home on Florida’s barrier islands. Humans helped draw animals to these fragile habitats. Now, we’re squeezing them out.

Should humans rescue animals from the perils of climate change?

Florida’s barrier islands have always been worth the risk to the hundreds of thousands of people living on them. After Hurricane Ian, will Southwest Florida’s islands ever be the same?

A new data analysis shows that population is surging on Florida’s barrier islands despite rising seas and worsening storms. Florida politics and policies continue to champion the growth.

An entire town of Floridians abandoned their barrier island in the wake of a major hurricane in the 19th century. Historians urge us to remember their decision — but memory is a fickle thing.

Why do people defy evacuation orders? The answers involve the psychology of risk. Hurricane Ian’s destruction may help change Floridians’ propensity to ride out hurricanes.

Hurricane Ian struck Southwest Florida in the same place where Florida’s powerful Calusa natives lived over 2,000 years ago. From dealing with sea level fluctuations to a massive hurricane around A.D. 300, their fishing and building adaptations can teach us about dealing with coastal change.

Climate change threatens not only the future of Florida’s barrier islands, but all they hold about the past.