Coastal Breeze News

Nancy Richie [email protected] Marco Island is surrounded by a richness of unique natural worlds to explore and enjoy with family and friends. All are a relatively short drive off the Island and can be experienced in any degree – from a day trip to an overnight to many days of camping. By foot or watercraft, get to know the “real” Florida in Marco Island’s own backyard. Here is a list of nine “must-experience” southwest Florida sites. For more information, the phone number and website address has been provided for each. ROOKERY BAY NATIONAL ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVE 239-417-6310 and www.rookerybay.org  A prime example ... Read More »

Nancy Richie For a developed, man-made island, Marco Island is fortunate to have a large diversity of wildlife. Once made up of approximately 6,000 acres of mangroves, this island was developed into over 100 miles of dredged “finger” canals that are fortified with seawalls. As the largest of the 10,000 Islands and surrounded by the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Marco Island benefits from this natural environs that supports furred, finned, feathered and scaled wildlife. Just walking to the mailbox, it is not hard to spot a native species in the neighborhood such as a White Ibis, American Kestrel ... Read More »

By Jane A. Marlowe Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort and Spa is a star in the crown of Marriott Resorts. Visitors come from all over the world to our Paradise to enjoy the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the smooth, sandy beaches and the first class accommodations of the Marriott. The guests’ every need is met, more accurately, anticipated by an expertly trained staff. There are four restaurants on site from fun casual at Pazzi’s to the elegance of Kurrent’s fine dining. Rooms are well appointed with private balconies overlooking the Gulf and beach, the carefully manicured grounds or ... Read More »

Nancy Richie  Have you noticed? There is a change in the way the morning and afternoon light hits Marco Island and in the way the air feels lighter on your skin. It must be fall in southwest Florida. To many, it means time for the first “snow birds” to arrive with the Island roads, restaurants and shops getting pleasantly busier. For regular beach goers and birders, the change means time for a different type of “snow bird” to arrive on the beach – seeing the end of the spring and summer shorebird nesting species, changing to the fall migration and ... Read More »

GE and Marco Island city officials today announced that data from an ongoing, nearly two-year demonstration project in Marco Island proves the capability of GE’s new LEAPmbr membrane bioreactor(MBR) wastewater-treatment technology to reduce energy costs and increase productivity, among other key benefits. GE’s LEAPmbr system, introduced in July 2011, is the result of a multi-year development effort. It was driven by GE’s product innovation and development capabilities and more than 25 years of experience with proven, highly reliable MBR technology in diverse applications around the world. Data from Marco Island demonstrates the cost and efficiency savings of the GE LEAPmbr ... Read More »

The free Festival sheds light on the plight of the endangered Florida panther through interactive activities about the Florida panther’s life and habitat. The Living with Wildlife Pavilion: provides proactive steps to be taken to protect pets and livestock on private property from wildlife. The Pavilion is staffed by panther biologists and includes tools biologists use to monitor panthers, capture videos, demonstration livestock pen, handouts, and the popular Adopt-a-Panther program. Music: The sounds of bluegrass music enlivens the Festival with live performances by two bands, Frontline Bluegrass and the BugTussle Ramblers. Presentations: Fascinating presentations by panther biologists and panther research ... Read More »

By Carl Kelly So, I was washing the bow pulpit on my boat. No. I was down on my knees, stiff bristled brush in hand, scrubbing the bow pulpit, and grumbling that I had to do it again. That little green heron had once more left me a generous token of his esteem. Then, I heard it, a chattering that sounded sort-of like the noise a green heron makes when upset or disturbed. I stood up and looked around for that little bugger, prepared to give him a talking to. I do talk to birds, and other animals, but not ... Read More »

Nancy Richie As fellow coastal and island residents, there aren’t many places one can go along the Florida coast without seeing a Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis). There are seven species of pelicans in the world. Two inhabit North America – the White Pelican and the Brown Pelican. Standing two to four feet tall, with wingspans up to six to seven feet, tip to tip, the Brown Pelicans make their presence known on docks, at marinas and the beach in the Gulf of Mexico from Texas to Florida; along the Atlantic Ocean from Virginia to the mouth of the Amazon River ... Read More »

Natalie Strom  Panthers, bobcats and gators, oh my! The residents of Goodland may like to think that they are the dominant population in our tiny island village, yet recent wildlife encounters are beginning to prove otherwise. While many of these sightings are incredibly rare, they are, in my opinion, completely terrifying. Sighting #1 In a recent endeavor to get more exercise I have attempted, on at least three occasions, to ride my bike to Marco and back. While cruising along the Betty Bruno Path that leads in and out of Goodland, I, unfortunately, became aware of a new population among ... Read More »

by Vincent Giannone On Saturday the 17th, Friends of Tigertail hosted a beach cleanup at Marco Island’s Tigertail Beach. Various groups and local Marco Island citizens volunteered along side Friend’s members. A total of fifty one proud volunteers were in attendance, including such groups as the Newcomers, Marco Lutheran Church and the Collier County NAACP.   This local event coincided with the International Cleanup Day sponsored by oceanconservancy.org. This is a day when various volunteer groups from around the world clean their local beaches in order to enter the amount of each item collected into the oceanconservancy.org database. These items ... Read More »

By James (Nik) Nikolich  Collier Soil & Water Conservation District Urban Mobile Irrigation Lab Supervisor As their 2010 project, The Water Symposium of Florida, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, in concert with Big Cypress Basin and Collier Soil and Water Conservation District, designed the Marco Island Planting Demonstration project to promote water conservation using waterwise landscaping. The planting area near Marco Island’s City Hall demonstrates how to use native plants in a natural landscape to provide a beautiful reminder of Florida, and food and shelter for wildlife. They also conserve water as an added bonus to the normal more waterintensive landscape ... Read More »

Marco Island Utilities (MIU) will be temporarily changing the disinfection process for the potable (drinking) water supply. From September 1 through September 30, 2011, MIU will disinfect the water with free chlorine rather than combined chlorine/ammonia (chloramines). This conversion to chlorine (a stronger disinfectant) from chloramines allows MIU to perform an annual water distribution system purge as recommended by the Department of Environmental Protection for water utilities using chloramines as their primary disinfectant. The process will start at 9:00 AM on September 1, 2011. This temporary change in disinfectant does not cause adverse health effects. However, during this period customers ... Read More »

By Natalie Strom As school has just begun in Collier County, students attending the new Marco Island Academy Charter High School should expect a unique learning experience during the school’s inaugural year. Jane Watt, Chairman of the Board of Directors for MIA, has developed an educational program based on the idea of using the diverse ecosystem of Southwest Florida as a learning tool. With the help of a hard-working staff, volunteers and the community, Watt’s dream is becoming a reality. This dream, however, would not have been possible without the help of Dr. Richard Murphy, Director of Science and Education ... Read More »

Nancy Richie It’s mid August and that means we are 2/3 through the Loggerhead Sea Turtle Nesting and Hatching Season. Beachfront property managers have been doing a great job with lighting compliance for our sea turtles by shading or turning off lights that shine on the beach by 9 PM nightly and giving constant reminders to their residents and visitors about the lighting and beach equipment rules on the beaches of Marco Island. To date there are 65 nests with 20 hatched. Though the number of nests is higher than the past few years, it has been a season of ... Read More »

By Natalie Strom Dr. Richard Murphy, known for his thirty years of working side by side with the world-famous Jacques Cousteau, hosted a lecture at the new Marco Museum on Thursday, August 4th. Proceeds from the event went to the new charter high school, Marco Island Academy. Dr. Murphy has been working with the school in developing a unique academic program based on the ecological advantages that Marco Island and Southwest Florida have to offer. Dr. Murphy currently works with Jacques Cousteau’s son, Jean-Michel Cousteau through his Ocean Futures Society. Through this Society, they have developed field studies programs for ... Read More »

By Nancy Richie Love them or hate them, the Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), a subspecies of the West Indian Manatee, is in our waters and has been for millions of years. Love them?  Most people do love them and seek them out to view for their unique characteristics – large, gray, sausage-shaped marine mammals with big flippers and a paddle for a tail, slowly moving and grazing through the Florida waters. Hate them? Hate is a strong feeling, but it mostly has been expressed when a slow speed, idle speed or no entry manatee protection zones are established for ... Read More »

By Nancy Richie Bioluminescent. A big word for tiny organisms. Each summer, a few locations in the Marco Island canals glimmer and twinkle in the night. Boat wakes, fish movement and jelly fish paths sparkle as the bioluminescent organisms are agitated in the water. Not just the fireworks were lighting up our Island on the 4th of July, but there was a bloom of bioluminescent algae that doubled the pleasure of the fireworks for a few residents. Studies at Scripps concluded that bioluminescent dinoflagelletes thrive in calm waters which most likely results from their extreme flow sensitivity that triggers luminescence. ... Read More »

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By Nancy Richie Coyotes were introduced in Florida for pursuit by hunting dogs as early as the 1920’s. The coyote’s natural expansion into Florida from then on was inevitable. As coyote numbers increase, concern over their influence on Florida’s indigenous prey species, competing predators, livestock and vegetables has grown. Coyote impact on native wildlife has already been seen in northern Florida where predation on endangered sea turtle eggs is a considerable problem. Much is still unknown, including whether the coyote will have negative effects on recovery of the Florida panther, or if it will fill the panther’s niche in areas ... Read More »