Skip to main content
Search Results for “un

Toads and untethered umbrellas are two things we should think about

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission FWC), cane toads are reddish-brown to grayish-brown, with a light-yellow or beige belly and can be uniform in color or have darker markings around the body. They have enlarged glands behind the eyes, which angle downward onto the shoulders. The glands secrete a potent milky-white toxin (bufotoxin) as defense against predators – including domestic pets. Cane toads generally range in size from six to nine inches in length. They can be confused with the native southern toad, however; adult cane toads are much larger than adult southern toads, which only grow to a maximum of approximately three or four inches. Cane toads do not have ridges across the head, as seen in the southern toad.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Lee County commissioners award contract for new shade structures at 10 Parks & Rec facilities

Lee Commissioners award contract for new shade structures at  10 Parks & Recreation facilities To the Editor: The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday to award a contract for new shade structures at 10 Lee County Parks & Recreation facilities.  The $1.3 million contract with Florida-based Industrial Shadeports, Inc. is to install shade structures […]

GIBA to invest $3.5 million in excess funds

Another big item on the agenda was the replacement of the old tide charts on the Swing Bridge. According to Banson-Verrico, the old tide charts on the Swing Bridge fender system were suffering from barnacle corrosion and were replaced by the GIBA staff with new float system charts.  “The boat clearance heights are completely out of the water and very user friendly,” she said.

GICIA announces new Bike Path projects

If you have been on the Bike Path recently, you may have noticed that compost has been added where washouts have created areas where there is a steep edge. This week a sod company will be on-site to add sod to these areas. This will create a smoother transition along the path. The completion of this project will be pleasing to the eye and create a more enjoyable experience for path users.

GUEST EDITORIAL: BTT to study juvenile tarpon habitats in Charlotte County to study juvenile tarpon habitats in Charlotte County

Our current focus is in Charlotte County, Florida, near the tarpon fishing capital of the world – Boca Grande. A VI uses GIS mapping data layers for nursery habitat sites overlaid with data on things like current and potential development locations, freshwater flows, and whether land is publicly or privately owned to categorize areas as high, medium or low vulnerability. For example, a nursery site classified as “natural” that falls under an area that the Charlotte County deemed as likely to be developed would rank as “high” in the VI. Conversely, a degraded nursery habitat with low potential for restoration that falls under an area in the county that is at low risk for development would rank as “low” in the VI.

First the phone numbers change, now the Community Center hours … what’s next?

According to the Federal Communications Commission, there are 82 affected area codes across the country that have had to be changed, as they all have one thing in common: Their area codes are all similar to or too close to “988,” which is now the established national number for the crisis line. The 82 affected area codes have one thing in common: using 988 as a local exchange, a term that describes the middle digits of a 10-digit phone number (for example: 123-988-1234). Four of those area codes are in Florida: 321, in Brevard County; 352, in north-central Florida; 941, which covers an area from Bradenton to North Port; and 561, in Palm Beach County.

TURTLE TRACKS: A rare wonder found on a Boca Grande beach

This week on turtle patrol, a Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association patrol volunteer was stunned to discover a very unusual hatchling. On rare occasion, an anomaly such as this poses a unique challenge for the sea turtle permit holder. The permit holder is solely responsible for the livelihood of each and every sea turtle, from nesting adult females to unhatched incubating eggs. Hatchlings require careful treatment and monitoring. It is unlawful to interfere, disturb, transport, photograph, and handle sea turtle hatchlings without a permit.

As the case of Boots and a Nantucket beachfronter altercation unfolds, the story starts to sound vaguely familiar …

All it takes is one homeowner or, in some cases, a corporation, to try to impose this regulation on beaches, and soon others follow suit. GIS maps can be misleading to potential property owners, as in many cases it shows the property line going out into the water. In Florida the law states that all beaches are public from the mean high-water line down to the water, and that used to be a cut-and-dried rule. But in 2018 former Governor Rick Scott created House Bill 631 (now Florida Statute 163.035), which is known as the “Establishment of Recreational Customary Use.” It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now it has proven to make a touchy situation even touchier in the fact it can be interpreted in many ways … including ways that benefit the property owner, not the public.