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Boaters frequent the southern tip of Keewaydin Island between Naples and Marco Island.

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This is a success story.

A story with a happy ending for a delicate, natural area faced with a day of intense public use.

Keewaydin Island, one of Florida’s longest unbridged barrier islands, is located within the boundaries of the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. It provides valuable habitat for coastal wildlife including gopher tortoises, ghost crabs, Florida panthers and bald eagles. Each spring and summer, sea turtles and shore birds use the beach for nesting.

The southern tip of Keewaydin also serves as a boaters’ paradise. On a "normal" weekend during season a few hundred people lose themselves along the island’s sandy shallows and gentle lapping waves. A few times a year, however, such as the day of Naples’ annual Great Dock Canoe Race, this tranquil shoreline transforms into a floating celebration for thousands of boaters.

During early May, reserve staff posted six acres of nesting habitat on the interior of the island’s south tip in an effort to protect least tern and plover nests from trampling by unwary beach visitors. Educational posters informing potential island visitors of the importance of good stewardship were distributed at boat-rental companies and ramps around the area. Local business sponsors also helped encourage a "green" event.

In years past, there had been incidents involving party-goers causing conflicts with the island’s natural resources. This year, the opposite was true. On the afternoon of May 10, the day of the canoe race, roughly 650 boats were counted, and thousands of visitors enjoyed the half-mile stretch of beach.

Law-enforcement officers representing the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, Naples police, Marco Island Police Department, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, Department of Environmental Protection and the Coast Guard patrolled the area to ensure visitors enjoyed the island safely.

The morning after the canoe race, members of Collier Marine Industry Association scoured the island for trash — and found surprisingly little.

We believe the education and law-enforcement efforts, combined with a strong sense of "ownership" of the resources by island visitors, made the difference. After all, Keewaydin Island, like the rest of Rookery Bay Reserve, is an irreplaceable national treasure that all of Florida should enjoy and protect. Enthusiasts of this year’s canoe race proved that point a thousand times over.