ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
Caloosa Palooza Concert for Clean Water March 22
Lee Future places a high priority on water issues in Florida. Calusa Palooza is holding a full day event and fund-raiser concert on March 22, 2020 at Centennial Park, Fort Myers. In addition, they are planning the largest ever clean-up of the region’s waterways in the week leading up to Calusa Palooza, starting on Saturday,…
Natural coastal protection of mangrove fringe getting squeezed by sea level rise, development
Florida’s first defense against an encroaching and eroding sea are the protected coastal mangrove forests. But laws can’t protect these plants from sea-level rise, a new threat to Lee County’s many miles of coastline. Originally published by Karl Schneider in the Naples Daily News on Feb. 14, 2020 Sea-level rise and onshore development are killing…
DR/GR dying a slow death
The DR/GR is dying a death by a thousand cuts, as county officials allow a variety of projects and requests to nibble away at the thousands of acres in Southeast Lee County once set aside to reduce overall population density (DR) and protect the aquifers in the area (GR) that supply most of Lee County’s…
Estero Bay Endangered
As development continues and stormwater management lags behind, Estero Bay is feeling the pressure of pollution and degraded water quality. A report (LINK) from the Cela Tega conference Jan. 25 documents how local residents and experts are rallying to protect this Outstanding Florida Water, but a commentary (LINK) by John Cassani is a sobering reminder…
State action needed on toxic algae risk
Blue-green algae is not just bad for the health of our tourist economy — it’s simply bad for our health! This article underscores the risks we face, calls for a quick response from the state Dept. of Health and others to protect the lives of residents and visitors. OpEd originally published in the News-Press on…
Toll road will take toll on local rural lifestyle
In a scene that will repeated around the state, the massive toll-road project being pursued by the Legislature will destroy the rural life and environment valued by so many. In Lee County, this is already being noticed in Alva, as documented in this News-Press story: Originally published in the News-Press on Jan. 21, 2020 by…
Florida Legislative Session Requires Close Attention
Lee Future urges readers to join us in actively monitoring and participating in the legislative consideration of the development review process and to protect and restore local control of these matters. These decisions should remain here with us, the residents of Lee County. OpEd originally published on Jan. 8, 2020 by Roger Williams in Florida Weekly The…
A way to better water management?
A plan to include more of Lee County in the Big Cypress Basin water management area could mean more water quality efforts to benefit the southern portion of the county at a lower cost to taxpayers… and could make more sense overall in terms of surface water management. LeeFuture encourages local officials to keep investigating…
Tell commissioners to protect wetlands, and don’t adopt this plan amendment
Lee Future urges readers to send the following to Lee County commissioners before the Wednesday, December 18 hearing: We oppose Comprehensive Plan Amendment 2019-00001 which allows for non-residential impacts on wetlands. We ask that you not adopt this amendment because it will open up wetlands to non-residential development in a manner currently prohibited by the…