As seen in a Naples Daily News Op-Ed submitted by John Cassani, Calusa Waterkeeper For the first time in over 20 years of monitoring, FDEP has declared Estero Bay impaired for nutrient pollution in 2019. The shock effect of hearing that water quality is in crisis does...
Blue-Green Algae Returns to Fort Myers Shores Originally published by WINK News on January 8, 2020 John Cassani, the Calusa Waterkeeper, said to see algae in the middle of the dry season is unusual. ”When it’s calm and the wind starts blowing, those tend to stick...
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett-Williams on January 8, 2020 Just in time for the height of tourist season, patchy slicks of blue-green algae are showing up in the Caloosahatchee, including at one of the river’s popular access points, the Davis...
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett-Williams on January 3, 2020 As news of Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to Southwest Florida solidifies, Sanibel’s Best Homemade Ice Cream is set to debut an all-new flavor colored in Bright Azure, developed my...
Guest opinion originally published in Coastal Breeze News by Rob Moher on January 2, 2020 Margaret Mead famously stated, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” For all of us...
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...
State Judge Recommends Chiquita Lock Remain in Cape Coral Originally published by WINK News on December 13, 2019 The City of Cape Coral wants the Chiquita Lock gone, but environmentalists say it will cause problems and want it to stay. A state judge agrees the lock...
Caloosahatchee River and Estuaries Facing New Type of Algae Bloom Originally published by NBC-2 News on December 8, 2019 The Caloosahatchee River and its estuaries have been looking brown and murky. It’s making people ask ‘what’s in the water?’...
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on December 6, 2019 A different variety of algae is blooming in parts of the Caloosahatchee River, but unlike other blooms the region has experienced in the past two years, this algae is not toxic to humans....
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...
Originally published in Naples Daily News by AKarl Schneider on November 20, 2019 The largest number of sea turtle strandings in a single month were reported in Collier County in October. Maura Kraus, the sea turtle expert for Collier County, said that she has...
Environmentalist Faces 4.3 Million Dollar Fine for Her Advocacy Efforts Originally published by WGCU Media by Mike Kiniry & Julie Glenn on November 18, 2019 Back in September Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal upheld a 2018 ruling against an environmental...
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett-Williams on November 09, 2019 Fast-growing cyanobacteria blooms fouling the massive lake. Global media descending to document dead wildlife and economic devastation. Dire warnings about blue-green algae toxins’...
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...
Originally published by WINK News on October 20, 2019 Beachgoers felt the effects of water quality issues along some Southwest Florida beaches this weekend. John Cassani, ecologist and founder of Calusa Waterkeeper, says red tide continues to cause fish kills along...
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...
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on October 8, 2019 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is releasing Lake Okeechobee water to the Caloosahatchee River again, but these discharges are expected to help the river and estuary. Lake O releases have been a...
Originally published by FOX4 News on October 4, 2019 A new report was released about a popular beach spot on Pine Island contains high levels of fecal bacteria. The levels are so high, it’s almost nine times the health department’s threshold for closing a...
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...
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 Amy Bennett Williams on August 30, 2019 When Florida’s blue-green algae task force meets next, public health will be first on the agenda. Hurricane Dorian postponed the scientists’ Friday’s meeting in Gainesville,...
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on August 27, 2019 Tannin-stained waters are blasting out of some Southwest Florida passes as rain water continues to wash off the watershed and into the Gulf of Mexico. Water quality scientists and others worry...
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...
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on August 19, 2019 The future of Lake Okeechobee releases will be guided by a group that’s meeting for the first time Tuesday in Clewiston. Called the project delivery team, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers...
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...
Originally published by WINK News on August 5, 2019 How does algae impact your health? On Monday evening, scientists, health officials and clean water activists talked to many of you about what the green gunk we saw last year does to your body. On Monday night, there...
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on August 1, 2019 U.S. Sugar filed a lawsuit Thursday in federal court against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, saying the Army Corps is violating its own regulations and the National Environmental Policy Act....
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...
