The 2024 Environmental Review

Mangroves on Sand Dollar Island: According to Mohamed Dabees, Vice President and Project Engineer for Humiston and Moore Engineers, when the Tigertail Lagoon Dredging project was completed in 2023, 499,049 cubic yards of dredge material was utilized to complete the berm project. Per Dabees, as a result of Tropical Storm Debby and Hurricanes Helene and Milton during the summer of 2024, wave action pushed sand against the mangrovesand covered their roots. It is hard to know how much of the mangrove plots will regenerate. 

Many species USED to call Sand Dollar Island Home/Habitat: When completed, the 2023 berm projectwas supposed to provide improved habitat for the sea turtles, black skimmers, manatees, and countless species of birds. ZERO Black Skimmers or Least Terns hatched any young on the Sand Dollar in 2023 and 2024! 

Seagrass and aquatic vegetation update on Sand Dollar Island: According to a report by Turrell Hall in 2023, “a breach in early 2022 continually introduced sand until spring of 2023 and caused scouring to most of the seagrass beds in the system until they were virtually non-existent.” For 2024, add the stressors from Tropical Storm Debby and Hurricanes Helene and Milton, delivering a large volume of sand to the system. It could be a while before we see manatees feeding in the lagoon. 

Manatees update: Manatees are Florida’s official marine mammal. They face threats such as habitat loss, watercraft collision, pollution, and starvation from lack of available seagrass. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Manatee Mortality numbers as of 12/20/2024: 547 mortality (more than 2023). 

Sea turtle season 2024: Hurricane season (June 1st to November 30th) overlaps with the sea turtle season (May through October). For 2024, Collier County experienced Tropical Storm Debby and Hurricanes Helene and Milton. According to Mary Toro, Supervisor for the Collier County Sea Turtle Protection Program, “The damages to the nests on Collier County Beaches were significant. At the time Hurricane Milton came, we had only a few nests left on the beaches that had previously been inundated by high tides during the earlier storms. Far fewer nests have hatched during the last season compared to previous seasons, resulting in fewer hatchlings entering the Gulf.” 

Panther mortality: December 2024 was a deadly month for the Florida Panthers, with five reported killed by vehicle collision. According to FWC Panther Pulse, on December 26, a two-and-a-quarter-year-old male panther, identified as UCFP478, was killed on December 26th, making it the 36th panther casualty in 2024. On December 22 and 23, a two-and-a-half-year-old and four-year-old male panther, identified as UCFP476 and UCFP477, making them the 34th and 35th deaths of 2024. According to FWC Pulse, 29 of the 36 panthers found dead were due to vehicle collisions, one was struck by a train, two were killed from predation, and four died of unknown causes.  

Gopher Tortoises: In 2024, vehicle collision was the leading cause of death in gopher tortoises in Marco Island. On December 30th, a gopher tortoise was run over on Balmoral, another fatal “hit and run,” with many “hits” going unreported. According to the von Arx Wildlife Hospital, Gopher tortoises were the top reptile admissions with 87 patients for 2024, and the top reason for admission was a vehicle strike with over 548 animals being hit by a car! 

Rodenticide Rat Poison is Killing Burrowing Owls: At the Eighth Annual Owl Watch End of Season event on November 2, 2024, Brittany Piersma, Field Biologist for Audubon of the Western Everglades, shared upsetting news on owls testing positive for rodenticide poison. According to Piersma, “there is no safe poison, and this is also a huge threat to all birds of prey and even to our own pet dog or cat.” 

Water Quality Update: The City of Marco Island conducts monthly water quality testing in 14 locations on the island, with four offshore locations. What’s in our water? Bacteria, nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous (contained in fertilizer and sewage), metals, and forever chemicals, to name a few. The nitrogen trend in the Marco canals has been positive for three years now and should soon be taken off the FDEP impairment list. The phosphorus trend is increasing and has exceeded the FDEP recommended limits.  

Actions taken to lower nitrogen in Marco’s canals: The completion of the Septic Tank Replacement Program in 2016; the Fertilizer Ordinance was passed with a summer ban on fertilizer use in 2016; the Wastewater Treatment Plant voluntarily reduced total nitrogen in the reuse water by 50% in 2019; and same could be done for the Phosphorus to reduce water pollution from its source.