Beaches

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed a bill reversing a controversial 2018 law that led to limited public beach access in some areas. Lawmakers in April passed the bill (SB 1622) after widespread complaints about waterfront property owners in Walton County preventing people from using beaches.

It’s sea turtle nesting season, and everyone knows what that means — turn off your lights at night. Flipping your light switch is an easy way to feel like an environmental superstar, but what else can you do to support these little turtles?

Battered by hurricanes and heavy tourism, Lee County’s beaches are fighting a quiet battle: an overwhelming tide of trash. From mangroves to the sandy shores, volunteers have hauled away tens of thousands of pounds of debris this past year, a stubborn reminder that paradise needs constant protection.In the past year alone, cleanup crews and volunteers in Lee County have collected more than 50,000 pounds of trash from beaches, waterways, and mangroves. Powerful storms and careless visitors dumped much of the stuff on the coastline.

The Captiva Erosion Prevention District will hold a public hearing Monday on a tentative apportionment for a beach renourishment project set to start this summer.The estimated $26.67 million project cost will be paid, partly, through special assessments imposed on the properties that benefit.

Over the past year, the City of Sanibel placed more than 400,000 tons of sand to restore beaches devastated by recent hurricanes. With that phase complete, the focus shifted to replanting the beaches to reinforce the natural dune structure. Over 32,000 plants of a variety of species were planted, strengthening the beach with their root systems.

Debris should be separated into one of five groups in order for FEMA to pick it up.

It's actually called Vibrio vulnificus, and a range of peer-reviewed academic papers are reporting the infectious and deadly bacteria is prevalent on Southwest Florida beaches due to climate change, warming oceans, and its endemic population. `````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Horseshoe citizen scientist classes may be popular among environmentalists just caring for nature, but less well known is how much the creatures do for humans: a compound in the animal's blue blood has the unique ability to ensure the safety of vaccines, injectable medications, and medical devices

Last year, sea turtle nests were lost when Hurricane Idalia whipped up Florida's Gest Coast before making landfall in the Big Bend during the last week of August as a Category 4 storm. This year, Hurricane Debby disturbed sea turtle nests again along that coast before making landfall in the Big Bend during the first week of August as a Category 1.

The project has proceeded enough that the Lighthouse Beach parking lot (Bayside) has been reopened. Sand is being now placed in the final two areas.