Collier County Beaches

Beach dunes may look like sand covered in weeds, but there’s more to these mounds than meets the eye. It’s illegal to interfere or drive on them under Chapter 161 of the Florida Statutes. But some travelers and Southwest Florida residents are unaware of this fact, according to Jeannine Richards, Ph.D. and assistant professor of ecology and environmental studies at Florida Gulf Coast University. Richards said that when people violate this rule, the repercussions are far greater than just leaving a footprint.

Environmentalists remain perplexed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' recent veto of a wildly popular bipartisan bill to safeguard the state’s coastlines and protect the health of beachgoers because he believed it gave the Florida Department of Health too much power

A sea turtle nest found Monday on a Naples beach is the earliest one recorded since Collier County’s Sea Turtle Monitoring Program began keeping track…