Dear Lieutenant Governor Kottkamp, 

I have recently become aware that Cape Coral Mayor Eric Feichthaler has appraoched Governor Crist's office to request removal of the Chiquita Lock and that you will be preparing a response. As a concerned citizen of Cape Coral and an educated environmental steward, I submit to you that this is a terrible idea that will have dire consequences for Matlacha Pass. I am asking that you please deny this request.

The City of Cape Coral, while ahead of the curve on some environmental issues such as re-use, does not have a stormwater treatment system. The spreader waterway and mangroves on the southern and western fringe of Cape Coral act as a buffer and filter to treat some of the impacts from stormwater run-off such as nutrients in the water due to people inadvertently over-applying fertilizer. This is only one example of a pollution source that this mangrove buffer serves to filter prior to the water flowing slowly into Matlacha Pass.

Matlacha Pass has been designated by the State of Florida as and Outstanding Florida Water. This designation, as you know, affords that waterbody increased protection from pollution discharges. Removing the lock will only serve to increase the flow of polluted waters into an area that the citizenry and government of Florida has recognized with good reason as a watershed worth protecting. Additionally, Matlacha Pass is already under significant strain from pollution due to its proximity to the Caloosahatchee River that is also increasingly stressed by nutrient pollution. We have been fortunate enough in this area to obtain WRDA funding to rectify this very type of pollution issue and removal of the lock would be counter-intuitive to the mission that our State Legislators intended for restoration of our watersheds.

I know that the argument has been made that the system does not function due to "blow-outs" in the mangrove fringe from time-to-time, but these issues have been well managed and the system does function as it should due to the hard work of your local State agencies. One local authority on the function, value, and maintenance of this system is Gordon Romeis at the South District FDEP office in Fort Myers. (239-332-6975) Please contact him if you must have more information while deliberating this issue.

I appreciate your consideration of this matter.

Regards,

Karen Bickford

1729 NE 20th Terr

Cape Coral, FL 33909