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OUR NEWS - There’s been a major development in Yntegra’s 200 million dollar Rosewood Exuma resort plan, following months of pushback from residents, environmental groups, and local businesses. The developer has announced it will withdraw and refile its site plan, signaling a reset on the controversial project.
THE NASSAU GUARDIAN - The Save Exuma Alliance (SEA) said yesterday that contending that their voices have been heard on its fight to save the Exuma Cays from overdevelopment given that Miami-based Yntegra Group voluntarily withdrew its site plan approval for its Rosewood Exuma resort and plans to submit a new application.
A recent independent community survey conducted on Staniel Cay and Black Point in October 2025 offers valuable insight into how residents of the Central Exuma Cays view development, the environment, and their future. The results show a shared understanding that the future of the Central Exuma Cays depends on protecting the environment and the livelihoods it supports before pursuing any large-scale development.
NASSAU GUARDIAN - Environmentalists are using Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation Chester Cooper’s own words as justification for their claims that the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP) should not have given the Yntegra Group the green light to design its Rosewood Exuma project on Sampson Cay to include a service dock that requires dredging and the construction of a seawall in an eco-sensitive area.
EYEWITNESS NEWS - Save The Bays has welcomed Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper’s recent public commitment to ensuring that major tourism and investment projects meet strong environmental standards, while urging the government to apply those principles to ongoing developments in sensitive ecosystems, including the proposed Yntegra Rosewood Exuma project at Sampson Cay.
VIDEO - OUR TV - THE Save Exuma Alliance’s fight to protect Sampson Cay takes center stage. This episode of On The Record explores the environmental impact of the proposed Yntegra/Rosewood Exuma development, the dredging plans, and what’s truly at stake for Exuma’s fragile ecosystems and community, from the voices of the community itself.
ZNS BAHAMAS: A world-famous dive operator and National Geo film collaborator today urged caution, calling for a halt-and-review of plans by a Miami-based investment group to build a Rosewood resort in the heart of the Exuma cays – a massive development, he said, that would potentially destroy “one of the last great undersea wonders in the Western world
Lawyer for the Over Yonder Cay development Romauld Ferreira submitted an appeal to the Subdivision Development Appeal Board in March over the granting of site plan approval to the Yntegra Group for its Rosewood Exuma project on Sampson Cay, citing a substantively flawed and defective procedure for the public hearings regarding the Rosewood project.
THE NASSAU GUARDIAN - One week after the Yntegra Group broke ground on its Rosewood Exuma project on Sampson Cay, the Save Exuma Alliance (SEA) released a statement yesterday saying it will continue to campaign against what it sees as a “vastly oversized project that will destroy the Exuma cays”.
THE NASSAU GUARDIAN: On September 8, 2025, The Nassau Guardian published an opinion piece by Eric Carey, former Executive Director of the Bahamas National Trust and CEO of ONE Consultants. In this powerful article, Carey examines the proposed Yntegra–Rosewood project on Sampson Cay and lays out the stark choice facing The Bahamas: continue chasing destructive mega-developments or embrace a future built on sustainability and local resilience.
THE TRIBUNE: On September 5, 2025, The Tribune published a powerful open letter from Kim Aranha to Sampson Cay. Her words capture both the beauty of the island and the heartbreak of what’s at risk. With personal memories woven into a plea for its protection, this letter speaks directly to the soul of why Sampson Cay must be preserved.
Community leaders in Exuma are in shock after learning of plans to build a massive seawall – 390 feet long and 40 feet wide, rising four feet above the water: longer than a football field and wider than a tennis court.
THE TRIBUNE: More than 6,200 people have signed a petition calling for an immediate halt to the permitting for the proposed Yntegra Rosewood Hotel project until there is further review of the full extent of environmental impact.
THE NASSAU GUARDIAN: Keiran Miller, owner of tour company Staniel Cay Adventures, is concerned about how the Rosewood Exuma project by Miami-based investment firm Yntegra Group will put pressure on the natural environment, on infrastructure, and on community relationships.
EYEWITNESS NEWS: S.E.A. members have voiced concerns that the project could negatively affect the tourism brand of the Central Exumas, which is based on low-impact, sustainable tourism.
OUR NEWS: Not everyone is rolling out the red carpet for Yntegra Group’s Rosewood resort. The Save The Exuma Alliance, local business owners and Bahamians, have stepped up their pressure campaign to try and get the government and developers to slow down and re-think some of the plans.
The Save Exuma Alliance (S.E.A.) argues that Miami-based Yntegra Group’s resort proposal, which includes a Rosewood Exuma hotel, over 90 structures, and two megayacht marinas — risks destroying a fragile ecosystem. Plans call for dredging through a 15-acre seagrass meadow at Sampson Cay.
SEA Member David Hocher spoke to Eyewitness News about safety concerns and risks associated with introducing commercial shipping traffic to the North Bay at Sampson Cay Exuma. Noting that Yntegra’s/Rosewoods Sampson Cay Project would bring heavy, constant traffic into the pristine recreational bay to service Yntegra’s service dock.
THE TRIBUNE: On August 5, 2025, Bahamian PhD student Zoe Olivia Brown submitted a letter to the media raising urgent concerns about the proposed Rosewood–Yntegra development at Sampson Cay. Studying at the University of Oxford, Zoe’s research focuses on how small island nations like The Bahamas rely on healthy ecosystems for food security, coastal protection, and economic resilience.
A tragic accident that left two young girls dead when a barge slammed into the small sailboat they were on during a summer sailing camp in Miami has triggered fears among Bahamians, reigniting concerns over a proposed development in Exuma that would allow supply ships and barges to ply areas popular with swimmers and small boats.
A Grassroots coalition in the Exumas is calling on the Bahamian government to urgently crack down on reckless boating, citing a surge in dangerous incidents tied to the explosion of boat traffic around popular tourist attractions.
The Save Exuma Alliance (SEA) issued a sharp warning this week following a July 1 incident in which a man snorkelling just 20 feet from shore was struck by a speeding 20-foot Boston Whaler.
SKIFT MAGAZINE: A plan for a new ultra-luxury resort in the Bahamas is drawing backlash from local groups and environmentalists, who warn the development could damage vital marine ecosystems that help fight climate change.
The proposed resort, Rosewood Exuma…
THE TRIBUNE
A Bahamian ecologist is calling for greater environmental protection of marine resources in the central Exumas given their “unique and exceptional coastal environment” that aids the climate change fight.
#Alannah Vellacott spoke out…
ZNS NETWORK
One of the founders of a fast-growing alliance of Exuma businesses, island operators and residents is calling for a commitment to environmental stewardship in the Central Exuma cays, questioning whether the proposed Yntegra Rosewood project was a right fit for Big Sampson Cay…
THE TRIBUNE
…As Bahamians, we are relying on the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection, and on your leadership, to protect the fragile ecosystem surrounding Sampson Cay and the North Cut from irreversible harm.
The Environmental Impact Assessment submitted by the developers remains deficient…
THE TRIBUNE
THE government’s environmental agency is still reviewing a controversial proposal for a $200m ultra-luxury resort in Exuma, which has stirred opposition from some residents and a nearby development.
#The Rosewood Exuma Resort, proposed by the little-known Yntegra Group for development on Big Sampson Cay,