Santa Rosa County Enacts Reduced Speeds to Protect Nesting Seabirds

Thank you to the Santa Rosa County commissioners!

A group of people with shovels on a beach

Published July 13, 2026

This article is from Audubon Florida . Find Audubon near you here.

Black Skimmers and Least Terns are once again nesting along the Navarre Bridge Causeway—a narrow strip of sand between the roadway and the waves. Audubon staff have been diligent in monitoring and fencing off the habitat, but Santa Rosa County stepped in to help further by voting to reduce the speed limit on the causeway from 35 mph to 20 mph during the breeding season. Thank you to the Santa Rosa County commissioners!

This article was published in the 2026 Summer Naturalist.