Lesson from Ian: Protect the wetlands that protect us
“Wait, what?”
That’s how New-Press journalist Amy Bennett Williams memorably began a 2019 article, expressing perfectly the disbelief of people upon learning that a developer planned to destroy 30 acres of mangroves to build 55 houses, the Eden Oak project.
That disbelief was based on the common knowledge that mangrove forests and wetlands are vitally important. Among other things, they provide significant storm protection and flood control.
This disbelief, of course, predated Hurricane Ian.
Thankfully, the hard-learned lessons of that storm were not lost upon Lee County commissioners who recently voted unanimously against the Eden Oak proposal after hearing from both residents and experts about how mangroves are a proven line of defense against storms and floods.
“I love those mangroves,” one resident testified. “They saved me probably a quarter of a million (dollars) or more. So, why would we let anyone destroy that safety barrier?”
“This is about water storage. This is about storm surge,” argued the attorney for the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation. “This is about protecting properties on the other side of (these mangroves).”
Soon it will be time for the Cape Coral City Council to exercise the same prudence as Lee County commissioners, because, incredibly — even as people are still suffering the aftermath of Ian and knowing similarly powerful storms are increasingly more likely — a developer has proposed building a much larger project on the shores of the Caloosahatchee River in an area of mangroves and mixed wetlands and uplands just south of popular Rotary Park.
The planned 110-acre development will include a maximum of 800 multifamily residential units, a resort hotel with specialty retail shops and restaurants, office space, 120-space parking lot, road, bike and canoe rentals, a 159-slip marina, boardwalks, hiking paths, and a half-acre public beach.
Traditionally, these acres had been called Piney Point. Presumably to avoid associations with the Piney Point environmental disaster in Manatee County in 2021, the developer is referring to it as Redfish Pointe instead, and the letter of intent filed with Cape Coral’s Department of Community Development says, "This development will foster a love for the environment."
It also asserts the project aligns with important city policies such as Policy 1.5.2, which states that the city “will continue to conserve and protect its wetlands in accordance with standards set by the FDEP and SFWMD,” and city Objective 1.8, which states, “The city will maintain and expand a program to enhance public awareness of coastal and other natural resources in order to better understand the importance of these resources and the need for their proper management and conservation.”
Harming wetlands and mangroves to foster a love of the environment and teach the importance of conservation: The irony is inescapable.
Notably, opinions of city department heads differ from those of the developer.
In an earlier document, accessed through a public records request, Cape Coral Public Works Environmental Resources manager states, “This project seems inconsistent with the city’s conservation and coastal management GOALS, OBJECTIVES, AND POLICIES.” (Her capitalization for emphasis, not mine.)
In addition to noting that the area is home to protected species such as bald eagles and that “potential impacts to critical sawfish populations and manatee populations are substantial,” she points out that “Removal of mangroves would weaken the buffering capacity of the mangrove area which protects the city against storms.”
No irony here, just cautionary alarm.
Additionally, the city’s Utilities Department director states, “With the looming threat of sea level rise and climate change, I don’t believe it would be good for community climate change resiliency policy to continue permitting developments close to high hazard zones next to water.”
The letter of intent doesn’t whisper a word about sea level rise or climate change resiliency. After Ian, it is a glaring omission.
When Governor DeSantis made resiliency a top priority of his administration and allocated hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars for climate resiliency projects “to address the impacts of sea level rise, intensified storms, and localized flooding,” there is no prudence in compromising the city’s natural resiliency and storm protection with this development.
When the time comes for the Cape Coral City Council to decide the fate of this proposal, they should follow the recent example of Lee County commissioners and protect the wetlands that protect us.
Joseph Bonasia is a Cape Coral resident.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Lesson from Ian: Protect the wetlands that protect us
