[2] By the early 1970s, Leeper was a well-known figure in the Florida environmental movement, as an advocate for protection of Mosquito Lagoon and opposition to major development on the barrier island around Eldora.
[4] She used her growing influence to advocate for the 1975 creation of the Canaveral National Seashore (CANA), which encompassed 58,000 acres including the barrier island and Mosquito Lagoon.
[2] Rep. Lou Frey, one of the sponsors of the Congressional authorization called Leeper "the driving force behind the establishment of Canaveral National Seashore.
Leeper saw the potential for an artist's residency as a place for ideas to be created, shared, and come into fruition.
When a prime piece of property became available on the shores of Turnbull Bay, a tidal estuary west of New Smyrna Beach, Leeper raised the $50,000 necessary to buy the ten-acre plot.
The ACA officially opened in 1982[2] for the first residency with author James Dickey, sculptor Duane Hanson, and composer David Del Tredici.
Beginning in 1987, Leeper pushed for conservation of lands adjacent to ACA on Turnbull Bay and Spruce Creek.