Cayo Costa State Park is considered to be one of the best shelling beaches in the world. With nine miles of beach, acres of pine forests and more than six miles
Periwinkle Wetlands restoration project begins
By SCCF - | Jun 9, 2021
SCCF
This week, the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation will begin the preliminary steps of a multi-phase restoration project on the newly acquired Periwinkle Wetlands Preserve, officials reported.
“We are grateful that we were able to acquire these key 12-plus acres and we ask the public to please understand that we must clear the land of exotics before we can restore it,” Chief Executive Officer Ryan Orgera said. “Since it’s right on Perwinkle Way and highly visible, we want to explain the process so a return to a diverse natural habitat is well understood.”
Algae blooms found in Matlacha Pass
Published: June 9, 2021 5:29 PM EDT
Updated: June 9, 2021 5:34 PM EDT
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“The smell is awful,” said Jeff Boone.
Friends Boone and Sue McAfee were out on Matlacha on Wednesday looking for fishing spots but instead, the two ended up finding foul-smelling water.
It’s not just noticeable from the fishing pier. A bird’s eye view of the water shows it is milky with mat algae on the bottom of the Matlacha Pass.
The algae in this case is likely feeding on nutrients from septic tanks and the Peace River, not Lake Okeechobee releases.
“When my father was growing up, when he was a fisherman, this was a pretty clean estuary, it was full of oysters which helped clarify the water,” said Dr. Rick Bartleson, a research scientist with the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation.
June is peak nesting season for sea turtles, so it is an exciting month for the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation as it monitors nests and addresses a few
Shorebird team monitors nests over holiday weekend
By SCCF - | Jun 9, 2021
SCCF
Snowy plover fledgling “White/Black”
Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation staff and volunteers spent the holiday weekend watching over beach-nesting birds, officials reported.
Some nesting enclosures were expanded to provide an additional safety buffer. There were large crowds of people, though no violations were observed, and the four snowy plover nests survived.
The 2020 Sanibel snowy plover fledgling “White/Black” spent the winter on Outback Key near Fort DeSoto, then returned to Sanibel for several weeks. It seemed as though he had found a mate and might nest when he suddenly reappeared on Outback Key on May 23.