Originally published on Fox 4 by Bella Line on May 29, 2025
“As you take out the mangroves, you weaken the resistance for storm surge protection, and also, as you make cuts, hurricanes and tropical storms will do more damage to the existing mangroves,” said Joe Cavanaugh, Calusa Waterkeeper.
The City of Cape Coral currently has no plans to pursue the project, according to a city spokesperson.
“At this time, the City does not have any plans to pursue the creation of a man-made navigable channel from the North Spreader Canal to Matlacha Pass. Such an undertaking would require a project budget, extensive planning and review, and permitting by both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), among other agencies. The complexity of permitting, along with an analysis of potential environmental impacts, makes this a particularly challenging project that would take several years to complete,” the spokesperson said.
Jason Pim, a former City Waterway Advisory Board member who also works with the Calusa Waterkeepers, believes protecting the remaining sensitive environments should be a priority.
“The city and the state have to do everything they can to protect sensitive environments, what little sensitive environments we have left,” Pim said.
Pim emphasized that creating a cut-through would negatively impact water quality in the area.
“As someone who’s lived in the southeast my whole life, you know, I think if we had this mangrove fringe in other in that area of town, we’d have better water quality, we’d have more protection from storm surge. And I caution residents, you know, think twice before you, before you negatively impact that barrier,” Pim said.
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