Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park history: who founded it, the 1958 expedition and no-take

The park began as a conversation about a few islands, became a survey and turned into a Trust and a park. This page follows that history in order, including the places where the dates do not line up. For today’s rules and fees, go to the park hub.

When was Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park established?

The Bahamas National Trust dates the park to 1958 and calls it the first marine reserve in The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean¹. The year it names is the year of the survey, though. The Trust’s own history says the 176-square-mile park was officially established after the government adopted the survey team’s recommendations, and that came with the Trust itself, created by the Act signed on 13 July 1959¹.

So both years are right in their own way: 1958 for the expedition and the proposal, 1959 for the legal structure. The Trust calls the park the first of its kind in the world¹, and The Nature Conservancy calls it the first no-take zone in the Caribbean⁸.

How did the idea start?

Ilia Tolstoy, grandson of the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, did not set out to create the Bahamas National Trust¹. He was a naturalist who saw that the Exuma chain was under threat from developers who wanted to buy it¹. His own account, printed in the 1958 survey report, starts in 1953: “I started to talk to different people about the advisability and possibility of setting aside some islands in the Bahamas”².

He took the idea to the Governor and the Colonial Secretary in the spring of 1955². On 13 February 1956 the Governor wrote to confirm that the Crown had set aside the Exuma Cays from Shroud Cay to Little Bell Island, for one year². The deal came with a condition: some organization had to explore the idea and pay for it². A one-year extension followed, to 30 June 1958, and the Governor visited the cays in September 1957².

Who made the 1958 survey?

The survey ran under the New York Zoological Society and the Conservation Foundation, and the report is dated May 1958². Its cover gives the survey dates as 19 to 28 January 1958, with shore trips to Shroud Cay on 23 January, Cistern Cay on 25 January and Warderick Wells on 26 January².

Ten people made up the expedition². Carleton Ray of the New York Aquarium led it, and the Trust says Ray and the other members were responsible for creating the park⁵. The Trust also names Bahamian officials Oris Russell and Herbert McKinney, Robert P. Allen of the National Audubon Society, and Dan Beard, John Randall and Don Squires¹. Their report concluded that the area had “outstanding natural values”¹.

Ray lived from 15 August 1928 to 14 December 2023, and the Trust calls him the last living founding member of the Bahamas National Trust⁵.

What did the 1958 report recommend?

The report asked for a national park run by a proposed Bahamian National Trust in cooperation with the government². Several of its proposals are recognizable in the park today.

• Size and shape: a park 8 miles wide and 22 miles long, 176 square miles in all, with only 8.75 square miles of land, about 5%². The boundary would reach up to 3 miles seaward on the east and 5 miles on the west².
• Sea included: the report held the inclusion of marine areas in the park mandatory².
• Pause on development: an immediate moratorium on leasing or other development in the park area².
• A larger option: adding Norman’s Cay would have raised the total to 216 square miles².
• A ranger: at least one ranger, who would report violations and keep a visitor log, with the Trust paying the salary². The Trust itself would not be an enforcement or regulatory agency².
• Penalties: confiscation of the boat as the heaviest penalty for hunting or fishing in the park².

From fishing limits to no-take

The 1958 report did not ask for a full no-take zone. It proposed closing the marine areas to all types of fishing except trolling in deeper water, over 10 fathoms². It made possession of spear-guns an offense, and it would have let residents of the park area fish for their own use but not spear-fish or hunt². The land would be closed to hunting and to cutting foliage².

The Nature Conservancy says the park’s waters have been managed as a no-take reserve since 1986, and that it began working with the Trust on the park in 2000⁸. The rule today is stricter than the 1958 proposal: no fishing, conching, shelling or lobstering, and nothing living or dead may be removed from within the park’s boundaries⁴. The penalty for poaching is fines and confiscation of vessels⁴. The no-take zone guide covers what the rule means on the water.

Timeline

Year	What happened
1953	Tolstoy begins talking to conservationists about setting aside Bahamian islands2
1955	Tolstoy presents the idea to the Governor and Colonial Secretary2
13 Feb 1956	Crown sets aside the cays from Shroud Cay to Little Bell Island for one year2
Sept 1957	Governor visits the cays; time limit extended to 30 June 19582
19 to 28 Jan 1958	Survey of the Exuma Cays2
May 1958	Survey report submitted to the Bahamian government2
13 July 1959	Bahamas National Trust Act signed1
2018	Platinum Global Ocean Refuge Award1

Who was Peggy Hall, the early park warden?

The Tribune’s tribute to Peggy Hall says the park came under pressure from development on land and poaching by sea as people discovered the beauty and accessibility of the islands⁶. As the park fell victim to lack of oversight, the Trust called on its lifetime member Peggy Hall⁶.

She took over as park warden and declared the park the first “No Take” preserve in the Bahamas⁶. She lived aboard her boat Moby, with her dog Powerful, during her years in the park⁶. The park also became the focus for volunteer helpers, including the youth groups of Raleigh International⁶.

What has the park become?

The park is the most visited national park in The Bahamas¹. In 2018 it won the Platinum Global Ocean Refuge Award¹. The Bahamas Defence Force has stationed three officers at Park Headquarters to assist park staff with enforcement matters¹. The park office is on a remote small island, so the Trust warns that contacting it can sometimes be challenging¹.

Headquarters sits on Warderick Wells, where a cruiser’s custom is to leave a driftwood sign with the boat’s name at the top of Boo Boo Hill³. A small population of Bahama hutia was transplanted to two locations, Little Wax Cay and Warderick Wells⁷. Read about the base in Warderick Wells headquarters.

For the basics of what you are visiting, see what the park is. For where the boundary falls, see the boundaries and map page. To help the Trust that came out of the survey, read how to support the park. Read the park rules before you arrive.