Hurricane Safety in 2024Local Safety Improvements since Ian.Several hurricane shelters in Southwest Florida have received significant upgrades to increase their ability to handle Category 5 storms, the most dangerous and potentially catastrophic hurricanes. The...
Environment Articles
River Oaks Preserve – Estero’s Natural Gemstone
River Oaks Preserve - Estero's Natural GemstoneIt’s Thursday morning and Florida Gulf Coast University students are...
We Are Poisoning The “Jewel” of Estero -Estero Bay-
We Are Poisoning The "Jewel” of Estero-Estero Bay-Many residents living in greater Estero are unaware that Estero Bay...
Our Residents’ Pride In Estero
Over this last weekend, Engage Estero’s Adopt a Highway Program volunteers collected 780 pounds of bagged litter and...
The Adopt a Highway program has been re-commenced to keep Estero looking beautiful. Want to help?
The ECCL has embarked on a new season working with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to help clean Hwy 41, between the Vines entrance (Breckenridge Road) north of Walmart and south to Coconut Road. In October, the team collected a total of 640 pounds of...
What We Know About the Quality of Southwest Florida Water – Isn’t Pretty
Water is essential to life, and in Florida, it is also an economic engine that fuels $94 billion in annual tourism spending and $12 billion in local and state sales, hotel, and excise taxes, according to Rockport Analytics LLC. When our waterways...
Microorganism’s Macro Impact
Corkscrew Road Wildlife Crossing Update
Work is planned to begin construction on a wildlife crossing across Corkscrew Road in October. It will be located approximately 1000 feet west of the entrance to Cypress Shadows Boulevard, which coincides with a regional flow-way that crosses under Corkscrew Road at...
Litter Harms the Environment
Litter is not just a land problem. Because storm drains empty into our local waterways with little to no filtering, any object tossed on the road, flying out of an open truck bed, or left in a yard can end up in our river, estuaries, and beaches.
Worth a Read: “Army Corps’ Choice of Plan CC for Lake O Presents Opportunity for Relief”
The Friends of the Everglades report that the Army Corps of Engineers has chosen a promising plan, but the need for advocacy is still urgent. “While we’re encouraged by the Army Corps’ selection of Plan CC, the new Lake O playbook won’t be successful unless it’s...
Worth a Read: “Is an Ounce of Red Tide Prevention Worth a Pound of Cure?”
In "The Bradenton Times", Glenn Compton writes about the need to study potential links between stormwater treatment facilities' regulated discharges and algal blooms. These discharges, he writes, are not monitored, and so their contribution to the overall water...
Masks effective against Red Tide
Florida Gulf Coast University's Water School has determined that the same masks the public has worn during the pandemic appear to filter airborne red tide droplets. People susceptible to respiratory illnesses, or who are exposed for long periods of time may find some...
Troubled Waters: A Public Health Hazard We need to act!
Troubled Waters: A Public Health Hazard During the height of the 2018 Blue-Green Algae and Red Tide HAB (harmful algal bloom) crises in Southwest Florida, Calusa Waterkeeper met and interviewed many of the nation’s leading research scientists studying HABs, but also...