{"id":220969,"date":"2026-04-06T19:44:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T19:44:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/220969\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T19:44:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T19:44:06","slug":"audubon-rejects-tradewinds-claims-over-music-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/220969\/","title":{"rendered":"Audubon rejects TradeWinds\u2019 claims over music festival"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"211\" data-end=\"395\">TradeWinds Resort\u2019s claim that the Audubon Society is involved in overseeing environmental education efforts for the upcoming County Thunder Music Festival\u00a0is being directly disputed.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"397\" data-end=\"583\">In a statement to the Catalyst, Audubon Florida said it has not partnered with TradeWinds on the event and has instead urged organizers to relocate the festival away from St. Pete Beach.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"585\" data-end=\"798\">\u201cAudubon Florida has urged TradeWinds over the last few months to find an alternative location, which would allow the concert to proceed without harming potential wildlife or their habitat,\u201d the organization said.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"800\" data-end=\"972\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/stpetecatalyst.com\/tradewinds-responds-to-country-music-fest-controversy\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TradeWinds had previously stated<\/a> that the festival would include educational components \u201cwith oversight from the Audubon Society,\u201d alongside other environmental safeguards.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"974\" data-end=\"1027\">\u201cWe will not be overseeing an education booth at the event,\u201d the Audubon refutes.\u00a0\u00a0The organization also cautioned the event\u2019s timing comes at a cost.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1179\" data-end=\"1387\">\u201cUnfortunately, this event has been scheduled at a critical nesting time for vulnerable and protected sea and shorebirds,\u201d Audubon said, reiterating concerns raised by local wildlife advocates in recent days, which would provide a boost to the local economy while protecting beach-nesting birds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1601\" data-end=\"1740\">The response adds another layer to a developing debate surrounding the three-day festival, scheduled for May at TradeWinds Resort.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1742\" data-end=\"1954\">Wildlife advocates, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/stpetecatalyst.com\/country-thunder-festival-faces-pushback-over-turtle-nesting-concerns\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">including Coastal Wildlife Advocacy Group CEO Lisa Reich<\/a>, have warned that the nature of the event\u2019s infrastructure could disrupt sea turtle nesting and hatchling patterns during peak season.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1956\" data-end=\"2265\">TradeWinds has maintained that it is coordinating with multiple agencies, including the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and has implemented measures such as nest monitoring, controlled lighting and temporary infrastructure adjustments.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2267\" data-end=\"2361\">The festival remains under review, with no final permits issued by the city or state agencies.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2363\" data-end=\"2606\">At the center of the debate is a familiar tension for St. Pete Beach: whether large-scale events that drive tourism and economic recovery can coexist with environmental protections during one of the most sensitive periods for coastal wildlife.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TradeWinds Resort\u2019s claim that the Audubon Society is involved in overseeing environmental education efforts for the upcoming County&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53623,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-220969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}