Fort Myers Beach

The Lee Board of County Commissioners on June 16 approved the draft RESTORE Act Direct Component Multiyear Implementation Plan (MIP) and authorized a 45-day public comment period as required by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

The Town of Fort Myers Beach provides an outlet where stakeholders are able to convey their input on what they believe the island community needs to stay resilient long-term.

Now it’s up to the town council to make a final decision on whether to approve a 150-unit hotel and 46 multi-family condos at the site of the former Outrigger Beach Resort.

When hatchlings go the wrong way, it's almost kindly called a "disorientation." But the fact is, nearly every time they perish headed in the wrong direction, it's a preventable death sentence. Nowhere in Southwest Florida is it worse than on Fort Myers Beach. Even town officials admit it, working hard for that to change.

The Fort Myers Beach Pier, dredging of an almost filled in Blind Pass and pickleball courts on Pine Island were among issues the Lee County Board of County Commissioners tackled on Tuesday.

Sampling by FGCU Water School researchers and SCCF marine scientist rules out karenia brevis; Town reminds residents of fertilizer restrictions.

In 2022, according to visitfortmyers.com, there were more than 4.4 million visitors, with the top three local attractions drawing crowds to the county being the beaches themselves at 66%, the Fort Myers Beach Pier at 36%, and the Sanibel Lighthouse at 26%. However, the year after Hurricane Ian, that number fell to nearly 3 million visitors. The pier’s visitation rate dropped to 15% while the beaches remained No. 1 at 51%. But now, with the promise of a new and improved pier on the horizon, those stats are starting to rebound.

The Fort Myers Beach Town Council has appointed John McLean to fill the vacated council seat formerly held by Jim Atterholt, following a 3–1 vote in favor of McLean at the town council meeting. After the motions for his appointment passed, McLean was sworn in during the same meeting.

The park is closed for duration of the project.

Water-quality testing in Southwest Florida occasionally reports high concentrations of enterococcus bacteria, which are found inside the intestinal tracts of humans and animals, similar to the spike in the bacteria discovered off Fort Myers Beach this week. New testing found the levels dropped and an advisory lifted.