20/11/2025
Champion of Conservation or Cashing In on Controversy?” The Eric Carey story.
For nearly 15 years as Executive Director of the Bahamas National Trust (BNT), Eric Carey was branded the voice of the parks and the conscience of the environment. He helped grow the BNT, expand national parks and secure big-ticket funding, raising more than $60m for the organisation.
Now, as a private consultant and environmental gun-for-hire, critics say his interventions often line up neatly with the interests of those already on the ground – especially where new rivals threaten existing projects.
Timeline: From Park Warden to Paid Consultant
2000s–2010s – The BNT years and Bell Island controversy
Carey rises through the BNT ranks and becomes Executive Director, turning a small team into a national environmental powerhouse and driving expansion of the park system.
During the Bell Island dredging fight in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, activists slam the BNT for not outright opposing a private luxury development inside the park. Terry Bain of “Save the Exuma Park” accuses BNT of “apparent compliance” with permits to dredge more than 13 acres of seabed, while Carey refuses to discuss whether the Trust accepted donations tied to the project, calling the matter “too political”.
Who benefitted? The private Bell Island owner and associated developers, who proceeded with dredging under a government permit despite park-protection concerns.
2011–2017 – High-profile environmental fights
Carey is a key voice in national conservation debates, from shark and turtle protections to marine parks and conch conservation.
2017 – Florida sand-mining idea: Carey publicly warns against selling Bahamian sand for Florida beach replenishment, stressing that sand is vital for local beaches and flats fisheries.
Who benefitted? Bahamian coastal ecosystems and tourism/fishing operators who rely on healthy beaches and flats – and a BNT brand burnished as a tough watchdog.
2020 – North Andros and South Abaco battles
North Andros mega-proposals: Carey and the BNT sound the alarm on proposals involving aragonite mining and major commercial developments overlapping a cluster of North Andros protected areas (Blue Holes National Park, Joulter Cays, marine parks, etc.), warning of “significant impact” on national parks and surrounding environments.
Who benefitted? Existing national parks and local communities dependent on traditional fishing and eco-tourism, whose protected areas remain intact – at least for now.
South Abaco hotel/marina scheme: BNT, with Carey as Executive Director, formally opposes the proposed South Abaco: Hotel, Marina and Residences development after reviewing the EIA, arguing it will directly degrade the environment and quality of life.
Who benefitted?
The South Abaco wetlands and coastal habitats that would have been filled, dredged or fragmented.
Existing eco-tourism, small-scale fishing, and community groups like Sustainable South Abaco, who pushed for a lower-impact development model.
2022 – Exit from BNT; move into private consulting
The BNT announces Carey will step down as Executive Director at the end of 2022 after roughly 15 years at the helm, noting his role in building a “world-class national park system” and raising over $60m.
Carey launches ONE Consultants, marketing himself as a decisive, “balanced” advisor on nature and development.
2023 – Paradise Island Royal Beach Club worries
As former BNT chief, Carey publicly questions aspects of Royal Caribbean’s $100m Royal Beach Club on Paradise Island, warning it could set a “dangerous precedent” for private cruise enclaves along New Providence’s coast and allow other cruise companies to carve out exclusive beach clubs.
Who benefitted? Competing local tour operators, day-trip businesses, and Bahamians worried about losing public access to prime shoreline – along with Carey’s image as a critic of cruise-line overreach.
2022–2025 – Exuma, Turtlegrass and the Rosewood clash
This is where the line between public-interest advocacy and private-client protection gets the most blurred.
2022–2023 – Turtlegrass gets cleared, with conditions:
The Bahamas Investment Authority approves Turtlegrass Resort & Island Club’s acquisition of Big Sampson Cay for an “eco-friendly” resort on the North Bay.
In 2023, DEPP gives Turtlegrass a Certificate of Environmental Clearance – explicitly “NO DREDGING” allowed.
2024–2025 – Yntegra’s $200m Rosewood Exuma project arrives:
Yntegra Group leases Crown Land on Big Sampson Cay and pushes for a Rosewood-branded resort that would dredge a very small area in the North Bay to build a service dock directly in front of Turtlegrass’s beachfront. After several environmental impact assessment the proposal was approved.
Carey’s new role:
Carey is engaged as environmental consultant for Turtlegrass Resort and is a leading public face of the opposition to Yntegra’s dock and dredging plans – including launching a petition opposing the Yntegra Rosewood project, which gathers thousands of signatures.
He aligns with Save Exuma Alliance (SEA), a coalition arguing the Rosewood plan is “vastly oversized” and dangerous for coral reefs, seagrass nurseries and tidal flows.
2025 – The win, and who gains:
Under heavy pressure, Yntegra announces it will file a revised site plan and reconsider the location of the controversial service dock to “avoid further delays” and address neighbour concerns. Opponents call it a “huge victory for the rule of law” and for protecting the North Bay seagrass meadow.
Who benefitted?
Turtlegrass Resort & Island Club, whose marketing hinges on an untouched seagrass-lined North Bay directly in front of its beaches. Their own site celebrates the North Bay as central to their eco-resort vision and documents how they halted further investment until Yntegra’s plan is changed.
The Save Exuma Alliance network of landowners, residents and local tour operators whose businesses depend on healthy reefs and seagrass.
Critics point out that in this Exuma fight, Carey’s environmental arguments line up perfectly with the commercial interests of his client, Turtlegrass. Social media posts and commentary in the local press label him a “lobbyist” and “hired gun” in Exuma, accusing him of blocking new investment while protecting those already entrenched.
Carey, for his part, insists through op-eds and public statements that he is defending sustainable development and community rights, not any single investor. In a 2025 commentary he frames these disputes as a battle between “short-term gains” and genuinely sustainable development.
Projects That Clearly Benefitted From His Opposition
1. South Abaco: Hotel, Marina & Residences (opposed)
Carey’s BNT came out firmly against the project, citing serious environmental impacts.
Beneficiaries:
South Abaco’s coastal ecosystems and national-park values.
Residents and eco-tourism operators who feared dredging, mangrove loss and diminished water quality.
2. North Andros large-scale proposals (flagged as risky)
Carey publicly warned that major development and aragonite-mining plans overlapped protected areas and could harm critical habitats.
Beneficiaries:
The network of Andros national parks (Blue Holes, Joulter Cays, marine parks).
Traditional fishers and eco-tour operators whose livelihoods rely on intact flats, reefs and blue holes.
3. Yntegra Rosewood Exuma Project (opposed in its current form)
As Turtlegrass’s consultant and SEA ally, Carey helped trigger public pressure that forced Yntegra back to the drawing board on its dock and dredging layout.
Beneficiaries:
Turtlegrass Resort & Island Club, whose eco-resort brand depends on undisturbed North Bay seagrass and views – and who now has a better chance of not sharing its front yard with a barge dock.
SEA’s member businesses – from tour operators to small lodges – who rely on pristine Exuma waters.
4. Florida sand-mining idea (discouraged)
Carey’s early pushback reinforced the idea that Bahamian sand shouldn’t be strip-mined to prop up foreign beaches.
Beneficiaries:
Bahamian beaches, flats, and the entire tourism and bonefish-fishing economy that depends on them.
The BN Question
So has Eric Carey “sold his soul” or simply moved from public-sector referee to private-sector player?
What’s undeniable is this:
When he opposes a project, somebody gains – whether it’s national parks in Abaco, flats and blue holes in Andros, or Turtlegrass’s high-end eco-resort in Exuma.
When he stays quiet or cautious – as during the Bell Island dredging saga – it is often deep-pocketed developers inside protected areas who walk away smiling.
In a country where environment and big money clash on almost every cay, Carey now sits at the hinge: sometimes guardian, sometimes consultant, always right where the next big decision will either save a reef – or save someone’s investment.
