Caloosahatchee Watershed Protection Plan Released
Comments on the draft of the Caloosahatchee Watershed Protection Plan are due back to the SFWMD by the end of October. Representatives from the District plan to make a presentation of the plan to the Lee County Board of County Commissioners on October 28. Read the plan...
Water Management Sued over U.S. Sugar Deal
A plan for the largest conservation land deal ever in Florida is being challenged by a former U.S. attorney who alleges that the South Florida Water Management District violated state laws when brokering the $1.75 billion deal. Read more...
U.S. Sugar to Sell 187,000 Acres to Florida
A $1.75 billion proposal intended to better protect Lee County’s beaches and help restore Everglades National Park should be finalized in the next few months between U.S. Sugar Corp. and the state of Florida. Read more...
Lee County Institutes New Landscape Management Ordinance
Lee County has finalized a new ordinance that governs the application of fertilizers containing nitrogen and/or phosphorous. Read the ordinance...
No more talk. It’s time for action.
Florida’s most stringent water restrictions, limiting lawn irrigation to one day a week and forcing agribusiness and golf courses to conserve, have begun.
See www.lee-county.com/utilities/Autopage_T2_R162.htm for a schedule of the restrictions. Read more...
New NOAA Model Links Mississippi River Nutrient Outflow to Florida Red Tides
A new NOAA research model indicates nutrients flowing from the Mississippi River may stimulate harmful algal blooms to grow on the continental shelf off the west coast of Florida. Read more...
Lee County & SFWMD Respond to Proposed Revisions to Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule
The Lee County Board of County Commissioners and the South Florida Water Management District have reviewed and responded to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ revised Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and proposed operational revisions to the Lake Okeechobee and Everglades Agricultural Area Water Control Plan. These USACOE proposed changes will regulate lake levels and discharges from Lake Okeechobee. Read more...
Landmark Legislation Takes Effect
Florida Governor Charlie Crist signed the Northern Everglades and Estuary Protection Act, providing $40 million to help improve water quality in area estuaries. Read more...
Water Quality Sensors
The Sanibel-Captiva C/onservation Foundation is installing remote sensors in the estuary and Caloosahatchee River to collect water quality data. Read more...
Sanibel Adopts New Regulations
Sanibel City Council approved a new City Ordinance regulating the use of fertilizers containing nitrogen and/or phosphorus within the City. Read more...
Lake Okeechobee Clean-Up
Unprecedented drought and record-breaking water lows have added up to opportunity for environmental restoration on Lake Okeechobee. Read more...
U.S. Rep Connie Mack Seeks Federal Support
Federal funding could be on the way to help the water quality in the Caloosahatchee River. Read more...
CERP May Underestimate Water Storage Needs
The 30-year timeframe on which the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) is based was a relatively cold period of time as opposed to the warm period in which are in now, according to Paul N. Gray, Ph.D., from the Audubon Society of Florida. Read more...
America’s #7 Most Endangered River
American Rivers, a nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., has listed the Caloosahatchee River as America’s #7 most endangered river for 2006. Read more...
Latest Research Findings
A study released on March 14, 2006, suggests that improved management of freshwater releases from Lake Okeechobee, combined with nutrient removal strategies for sewage within the Caloosahatchee River drainage basin, could help mitigate future outbreaks of harmful macroalgal blooms – outbreaks of algae that can be seen without a microscope. Read more...
