Community Action Plan:
Billy’s Creek, Fort Myers
Executive Summary
The Billy’s Creek Community Action Plan (BC-CAP) serves as a call to action for restoring a local tributary, Billy’s Creek. From its early history to the present day, memories and life experiences intersect and continue to affirm the significant role Billy’s Creek holds in the greater Fort Myers community. Throughout the process of writing the Billy’s Creek Community Action Plan (BC-CAP), oral histories were collected in an effort to understand the place Billy’s Creek holds in the hearts of the people who live here. Shared with us were stories of learning to swim in the once white, sandy-bottom creek; teaching youth about the local environment with school trips to the creek; and, most popularly, fishing alongside family and friends.
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Billy’s Creek Oral History Project
Our stories are what connect us to each other and our environment. Therefore, Calusa Waterkeeper is collecting oral histories from community members to amplify the historical, cultural, and recreational significance that Billy’s Creek has had in our lives.
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The grant will fund efforts to trim plants that block sunlight, a natural bacteria killer, and remove trash and bacteria.
Fort Myers receives $6 million grant to clean polluted canals
The grant will fund efforts to trim plants that block sunlight, a natural bacteria killer, and remove trash and bacteria.
Fort Myers receives $6M grant to clean polluted canals
The funding is part of ongoing efforts to address elevated bacteria levels in waterways, such as Manuel’s Branch and Billy’s Creek, which flow through commercial and residential neighborhoods and parks before reaching the Caloosahatchee River.
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Priority Issues
Harmful Algal Blooms
Cyanobacteria & Red Tide
Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) and Karenia brevis (red tide) have been making major impacts on Southwest Florida.
Lake Okeechobee Discharges
Revise System Operating Manual
The Caloosahatchee River often suffers from too much freshwater in the wet season, and not enough freshwater in the dry season.
Cape Coral Spreader Canals
Nutrient & Sediment Loading
The City of Cape Coral is working to remove large storm-water barriers to make recreational boating more convenient.
Bacteria Monitoring
Fecal Bacteria
Calusa Waterkeeper has been at the forefront of monitoring this Fort Myers tributary for fecal bacteria indicators.