Wildlife advocacy groups are pushing to cancel the Country Thunder Music Festival, which is slated to bring headliners like Gavin Adock, Zack Top and Kane Brown to the TradeWinds resort on St. Pete Beach for three days in May.
Critics argue the event will negatively affect sea turtle nests and hatchlings. But as businesses are still recovering from the 2024 hurricanes, the city must weigh wildlife conservation against economic necessity.
Lisa Reich, CEO of Coastal Wildlife Advocacy Group, has been a St. Pete Beach resident for 40 years, 15 of which she’s spent patrolling the coastline. Reich warns that the scale of the “industrial build” for Country Thunder, which will bring semi-trucks loaded with heavy rigging, massive staging and extensive decking onto the beach, will dramatically affect local wildlife during peak turtle nesting season…