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About the Department

Responsibilities

The Natural Resources Department is responsible for managing conservation, environmental restoration, and water quality projects on the Island. These responsibilities involve applying for and managing grants, implementing programs, performing biological field inspections, and providing environmental information to citizens and to the City.

2010 Goals

Current goals of the Sanibel Natural Resources Department include the following:

  • Continued participation and input into essential water quality related multi-agency and multi-partner efforts including: River of Grass planning, Lake Okeechobee water management decisions, State Stormwater Rule-making, Basin Rules, Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) process, Basin Management Action Plans (BMAP), State Numeric Nutrient Criteria for Florida Waterbodies, revision of State Waterbody Classifications and others.
  • Successfully apply for state, federal and local grants for environmental restoration, stormwater improvement, exotic plant control and wildlife habitat management projects with an emphasis on reimbursable grants that reduce or eliminate City costs for needed projects.
  • Finish compliance and enforcement sweep in Brazilian Pepper Eradication Program Zone 3 and initiate mandatory removal in Zone 5 and voluntary removal in Zone 6.
  • Modify and achieve approval for interagency prescribed fire agreement and operating plan with USFWS, Sanibel Fire and Rescue and SCCF and increase staff training and expertise to enable participation in federal prescribed burns.

Recent Accomplishments

Recent accomplishments of the Sanibel Natural Resources Department include the following:

  • Coordinated closely with USACOE and SFWMD to achieve significant reductions in damaging releases from Lake Okeechobee. Releases were averted and/or minimized in impact due to direct communication with high level regulatory staff.
  • Participated fully in the River of Grass planning project. As a result, all currently considered potential project designs for water storage, flow and hydrologic restoration include 90-95% reduction of high water flows to the Caloosahatchee Estuary.
  • Played a critical role in design, biological surveys, permitting, mitigation, shorebird protection and contractor oversight for the Blind Pass Opening project.
  • Successfully completed the Sea Oats Preserve Restoration Project using 95% grant funding.

Upcoming Challenges

The greatest current challenges the Island's natural systems face continues to be water quality and algae blooms. The Natural Resources Department must balance the need for extensive work on this issue with continuing the normal operation of the Department. All three staff members are very actively involved in the effort to reduce the long-term threats of nutrient pollution and excessive releases of polluted freshwater and sediments from Lake Okeechobee and the Caloosahatchee River Basin.

Learn more about the Department (pdf 1.12 MB)