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About Sanibel Island
Sanibel Island, a Sanctuary Island, has a resident year round population of about 6,000 people. Sanibel's winter population increases to about 22,000, when all the visitors and "snowbirds" arrive to frolic on Sanibel's beaches and soak up the sunshine.
Sanibel is shaped like a boomerang, and is about 11 miles long and 2 miles wide at its widest point. About 50% of Sanibel Island is the "Ding Darling" National Wildlife Refuge named after J. "Ding" Darling, an ecologically oriented political cartoonist. Ding Darling fell in love with Sanibel Island and used his influence to preserve it. There is a remarkable 5 mile nature trail that runs through the Wildlife Refuge, and there are several other smaller sanctuary areas throughout Sanibel Island, such as the Bailey Tract on Tarpon Bay Road, and the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation property on Sanibel-Captiva Road. The City of Sanibel was incorporated in 1974 to protect itself from the over-development that was being carried out on most of the coastal areas of Lee County. The Comprehensive Land Use Plan instituted on Sanibel Island is one of the most stringent land use plans in the United Sates, and is continuously being updated to reflect the growth of Sanibel. Sanibel's land use plan lowered the density of development on the Island dramatically. The overall build-out projection is 9,000 dwelling units, which includes homes, motel rooms, and condominiums. Sanibel is almost at total build out now. In addition, every part of Sanibel has been assigned an ecological zone, based primarily on the height above sea level. History of Sanibel Island Points of interest on Sanibel Island |
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