Audubon threatens to cancel its own TradeWinds event

The Country Thunder Music Festival controversy has taken another turn, this time with financial consequences extending beyond the three-day event itself.

“Unless the Country Thunder event is relocated off-beach … we will regretfully have to cancel our Audubon Assembly at the Tradewinds St. Pete Beach,” wrote Audubon Florida Executive Director Julie Wraithmell in a letter sent April 7 to TradeWinds Resort leadership.

The letter marks a significant escalation in a dispute that, until now, has largely centered on environmental concerns, permitting and public messaging.

Audubon had already publicly rejected TradeWinds’ claim that it (Audubon) would be involved in environmental education efforts tied to the May 8-10 music festival. Now, it is leveraging its own contractual relationship with the resort.

According to the letter, Audubon had booked the TradeWinds facility in November 2025 for an October 2026 conference. That arrangement is now at risk.

“When we later learned of the venue’s plans to host Country Thunder … we immediately reached out … to urge TradeWinds to reschedule the event after nesting season or relocate it,” the letter states.

Audubon contends those efforts have not resulted in changes to the event’s timing or location. “Unfortunately, the event has been neither rescheduled nor relocated, and does not yet appear to have any of its permits,” the organization wrote.

That point aligns with what St. Pete Beach officials have since confirmed. City Manager Frances Robustelli said earlier this week that the event remains unapproved, with both state and local permitting still unresolved. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission must sign off before any beachfront event of that scale can move forward during sea turtle nesting season, which begins May 1.

Beyond permitting, Audubon also took direct issue with how it has been represented publicly and stated it was “alarmed” to learn TradeWinds had issued a statement implying Audubon support or involvement.

Wildlife advocates first raised concerns about the festival’s “industrial build” and its potential impact on sea turtle nesting and hatchlings. TradeWinds responded by outlining mitigation efforts, including monitoring, lighting controls and coordination with environmental groups.

Audubon then broke from that narrative, stating: “This event is inappropriate in this location and at this time, and should be relocated or rescheduled.”

Audubon acknowledged canceling its conference would come “with a financial and operational cost,” but said it has “no other choice” after what it described as exhausted efforts to reach a resolution.

For TradeWinds, that introduces a second layer of economic calculus. The resort has positioned Country Thunder as a major driver of tourism and revenue for a beach community still recovering from the 2024 hurricanes. But losing a statewide conference, and potentially others watching how this unfolds, adds a competing risk.

Meanwhile, the permitting question remains unresolved.

The city has stated it has not received a complete application addressing all environmental impacts, and no permits have been issued by either the city or the state.

That leaves the festival in the same position as before – planned, marketed and contested, but not yet approved.