Champions of the Environment

For two mild-mannered, retired Ph.D.s, Gene and Ellie Boyd sure know how to raise a ruckus. The former University of Rochester neuropharmacologists retired to Pine Island in the early 1980s. All was idyllic until a developer announced plans to dredge the creek behind their home, which would make it easier for boats to navigate but harder for wildlife to survive. They walked a petition door to door, gathering more signatures than the Department of Environmental Regulation had ever received for such an effort. But they also gathered some enemies. "Things became quite nasty-tires were slashed, threats made," recalls Gene.

That was the beginning of the Responsible Growth Management Coalition, a grassroots group that's faced down some heavy-hitting opponents. Their biggest battle came in the early '90s, when the site for Florida Gulf Coast University was proposed for the fertile wetlands of southeast Lee County. Envisioning unruly sprawl and terrible pressure on water, roads and wildlife, they opposed permits for the university. The fight was lengthy and loud. There were decisions and appeals, victories and losses. Eventually the Boyds decided to retreat, though not because they were losing, points out FGCU professor Bill Hammond. "They'd already prevailed in a number of cases, and they would have probably eventually prevailed with that, too," but they decided they'd caused enough uproar and received enough abuse. For a few years, they retreated to the Texas hill country, but now they're "back to civilization," says Ellie, living on three wild acres in Buckingham and still passionate about protecting the Gulfshore's quiet beauty. "We hope there's still time for people to learn from the horrors of the east coast," she says.

While sprawl and high rises have marred many Florida islands, Sanibel and Captiva islands still retain much of their natural beauty, thanks to residents who fiercely protect their environment. Some of the credit for that has to go to KRISTIE ANDERS, who as education director of the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation brings her message to every islander she can, from new residents-who get a free half-day nature tour with her-to real estate agents, who must take her course before joining the Sanibel-Captiva Realtor Association..

Anders landed on Sanibel 20 years ago, armed with a degree in marine science and recreation and parks management, and went to work at the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge. After building its volunteer program, she moved across the street to the SCCF in 1988. She and her carpenter husband, Red, live two islands up -on North Captiva-in "an old fishing shack," a cabin of pecky cypress. Six days a week, the couple commutes to Sanibel in their 20-foot boat.

"I celebrated the first Earth Day and I was truly convinced we could change the planet," she recalls. Now she realizes that "no one is going to come in and make it all better." So she's determined to do all she can to keep her little corner of the planet alive. "I've decided what's absolutely essential is that small fires burn in all neighborhoods," she says, and she'll keep lighting the fire to protect Southwest Florida's fragile islands in as many hearts as she can.