Calusa Waterkeeper Event Focuses on Fun & Water Quality Water quality takes center stage as Calusa Waterkeeper presents Calusa Palooza 2020, a day-long, family-friendly, water-themed festival culminating with a double-header rock show. The festival and “Concert...
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on February 07, 2020 The federal government set aside $200 million for Everglades restoration for 2020, but some South Florida environmental groups say it’s not enough to fix the ailing World Heritage Site....
Now that we number 82 volunteer Rangers (covering 1000 square miles of water in our watershed), it is not feasible for us all to meet on a monthly basis. So, the various Ranger Zones meet monthly, and every three months we gather members of our entire Ranger program...
Originally published in The News-Press by Bill Smith on December 16, 2019 A state administrative law judge has recommended that the state environmental agency reverse its decision and deny Cape Coral a permit needed to remove the Chiquita Lock. The lock, at Cape...
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett-Williams on November 21, 2019 Aside from a few lawyers, it’d be hard to find anyone to disagree that Maggy Hurchalla is the real deal: real Floridian, real environmentalist, real storyteller, real character. As the...
Conservation Groups Send a Letter Urging Florida Officials to Set Water-quality Standards for the Harmful Toxins in Algal Blooms. The groups are calling on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to establish legal limits for cyanotoxins that pose severe...
Originally published by FOX4 News on November 4, 2019 Calusa Waterkeeper posted pictures to their Facebook page showing a dead goliath grouper on the beach. This was on Naples Beach, south of the Naples Pier over the weekend. The post says the fish likely died from...
As seen in a News-Press OpEd submitted by John Cassani & Howard Simon, Calusa Waterkeeper, October 18, 2019 After the last prolonged outbreak of red tide and blue-green algae, it seemed every politician vowed to “do something.” The spin from the last session was...
On Episode 9 of Words from the Waterkeeper, John is joined by volunteer ranger and avid angler Don Lees for a Pine Island Sound fishing report. John addresses the red tide reports in Collier County and shares upcoming dates for Troubled Water documentary screenings in...
As seen in a News-Press OpEd submitted by John Cassani, Calusa Waterkeeper, October 4, 2019 The growing but little-known water quality and public health problem that won’t seem to go away is that fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) contamination has become widespread in...
In Episode 8 of Words from the Waterkeeper, John is joined on the beach by water ranger Bradley Quandt for a SWFL fishing report on spawning snook and the resurgence of baitfish populations. John also provides the latest water readings on background levels of red tide...
In Episode 7 of Words from the Waterkeeper, John Cassani is joined by long-time Calusa Waterkeeper Ranger Jason Pim as they discuss the Four Mile Cove in Cape Coral. John provides updates on the microcystis bloom in Lake Okeechobee and red tide...
Periodically,The Island Sand Paper asks a community leader “6 Questions.” In this edition, K.C. Schulberg, Executive Director for Calusa Waterkeeper, discusses their new film, “Troubled Waters,” and our area’s water quality. After an extensive career in filmmaking and...
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis, Amy Bennett Williams and Karl Schneider on August 21, 2019 Hundreds of politicians, business leaders, agency heads and environmental advocates met Wednesday in Bonita Springs to try to find solutions to Southwest...
We are grateful for the esteemed panel of expert scientists and medical professionals that followed our first screening of the Calusa Waterkeeper documentary: Troubled Waters. We filmed the complete Q&A session about public health and clean water advocacy and...
Originally published in Florida Today by Chad Gillis of the Fort Myers News-Press on August 11, 2019 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released higher volumes of water this past spring to keep Lake Okeechobee levels lower in case of a blue-green algal bloom. Some say...
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on August 7, 2019 It wasn’t billed as a horror movie, but “Troubled Waters” drew its share of gasps from a sold-out audience at its Monday night premiere. Calusa Waterkeeper’s new documentary explores last...
In this week’s episode of Words from the Waterkeeper, John Cassani provides updates on current water conditions in the region and talks about upcoming...
NBC-2.com WBBH News for Fort Myers, Cape Coral & Naples, Florida Originally published by NBC2 News on July 31, 2019 The Army Corps of Engineers posted signs warning people of potential blue-green algae at Franklin Lock in Olga. It’s something Calusa...
Originally published in Becker’s Hopsital Review by Kelly Gooch on July 29, 2019 Healthcare providers have a new medical code to document illnesses related to red tide or blue-green algae, according to usatoday.com. The new code, Z77.121, aims to help quantify...
Leading Researchers to Discuss Threat to Public Health It’s a problem we can’t ignore. Scientific evidence showing the health risks of harmful algal blooms in Southwest Florida waterways will be the focus of Calusa Waterkeeper’s “Public Health Alert – Florida Water...
In this week’s installment, Calusa Waterkeeper John Cassani shares the latest bacteria readings from 18 stations in Lee County, updates on the blue-green algae bloom in Lake Okeechobee and upcoming events you won’t want to...
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on July 12, 2019 Earlier this week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers acknowledged it has released water from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers that has contained toxic...
Calusa Waterkeeper John Cassani has the most recent readings from Lake Okeechobee’s harmful algal bloom and microcystin levels. He also shares updates on bacterial hotspots happening in some popular Southwest Florida recreational waterways. Additional Resources:...
Originally published by FOX4 News on July 08, 2019 Holley Rauen, a retired nurse and now volunteer at the Happehatchee Center in Estero warns a man about the contaminated water as he passes by on his kayak. She said she’s been on edge ever since a kids’ summer camp...
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on June 27, 2019 Normally, summer camp at Estero’s Happehatchee Center would end with a splash party — canoe races and a water fight in the village’s namesake river. Not this year. “As a nurse, I am...
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on June 25, 2019 After months of uphill battle, a recent Calusa Waterkeeper public health town hall started with a victory. As he took the stage at Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre in Fort Myers on Monday...
Florida’s DEP urged to include cyanotoxins in water quality standards Cyanobacteria, harmful algal blooms (HABs), and their root causes have been well-known problems in Florida’s waters for quite some time. The state’s first Harmful Algal Bloom Task...
Op-Ed submitted by K.C. Schulberg, Executive Director of Calusa Waterkeeper and published by Florida Weekly on June 12, 2019. What is going on with our water, and what is the potential risk to human health? The summer of 2018 brought historic, unprecedented and...
