Improvements begin at Lee County’s Caloosahatchee Creeks Preserve

NORTH FORT MYERS – A hydrological restoration project at Lee County’s Caloosahatchee Creeks Preserve is in progress in North Fort Myers. A $250,000 grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection awarded to the Conservation 20/20 program is funding the project, which will enhance wetlands.

Crews will create sinuous channels that will mimic the creeks that existed before the dredging of the Caloosahatchee River decades ago. These creeks will help the existing wetlands and provide additional habitat for the small-toothed sawfish and wood storks, both of which are federally protected species.

The project is expected to reduce nutrients in the Caloosahatchee River. Water from Pop Ash Creek will be routed through the created channels and wetlands, allowing nutrients to settle and be taken up by plants before the water flows into the river.

The project’s anticipated completion is Jan. 15, 2016. Preserve visitors might observe heavy equipment but no trails will close and the kayak launch will remain open. Directions and more information on Caloosahatchee Creeks Preserve are available at www.conservation2020.org. Follow Lee County, FL Conservation 20/20 on Facebook.