Shoreline Survey: Call for Lee County Volunteers

The Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program kicked off a volunteer shoreline survey this April in Charlotte County. With the help of over thirty volunteers the survey of developed areas is almost complete. The program is now ready to move forward with a similar effort in Lee County over the summer, and is seeking the assistance of volunteer boaters.

The goal of the project is to use volunteers to collect data on the quality of the local estuarine shorelines. What is meant by quality of shoreline? Data collected will include information on presence of mangroves, presence of exotic vegetation, height of mangroves, hurricane damage, and if mangroves are trimmed. The natural state of the estuarine shoreline consists primarily of mangroves which serve as habitat for fish and invertebrates, stabilize sediments, and contribute significantly to the food web. Through this project we will be able to document how much of the shorelines currently consist of mangroves, what condition they are in, and track how this changes over time.

In many areas of Lee and Charlotte County Hurricane Charley has caused lasting damage to the mangroves. The mangrove forests may take a long time to recover, especially in areas where there have been hydrologic alterations by the creation of roads, bridges and other man-made structures. Exotic vegetation, (e.g. Brazilian Pepper, Melaleuca, and Australian Pines) and erosion are also threats to mangrove forests; these are especially concerns for those areas made more vulnerable by hurricane damage.

The data collected by the volunteers will be combined with a detailed map of the shoreline types, for example seawalls, rip rap, beach or mangroves. The end product will be a map of the area, available for science, management and public use, along with a summary of the state of the local shorelines. The maps will be very useful for determining restoration needs, studying fish habitat, and planning for the future.

So what does volunteering entail? Potential volunteers should be confident boaters with experience in power boats or kayaks. Volunteers should have access to a boat (although CHNEP may be able to provide a few kayaks) and a GPS. Volunteers signing up for a single section should expect to spend about four hours on the water, and will not be required to get out of the boat to complete the survey. All individuals planning on participating should attend the training meeting on July 17th (see sidebar for details).

If you are interested in signing up to assist in the CHNEP shoreline survey, please e-mail Jaime Boswell (jboswell@swfrpc.org).

Be sure to include your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and the general areas you are willing to survey in order of preference.
Areas will be assigned on a first come first serve basis, sign up soon for you favorite boating area.

Lee County Shoreline Volunteer Meeting
When: Tuesday, July 17th
Time: 7:00-8:30 pm
Where: Rutenberg Park , Cypress Lake Dr. & South Pointe Blvd. 6490 South Pointe Blvd., Fort Myers

RSVP to Jaime Boswell (jboswell@swfrpc.org)
Include: Name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and the general area you are willing to survey (see list below)

General Survey Areas
Upper Caloosahatchee
Middle Caloosahatchee
Lower Caloosahatchee
Estero Bay
San Carlos Bay
Northern Matlacha Pass
Southern Matlacha Pass
Northern Pine Island Sound
Southern Pine Island Sound
Charlotte Harbor