Habitat

To say the completion of the Lely Main Canal Improvement Project was overdue would be an understatement. “It’s been a long time coming, hasn’t it?” said Collier County Commissioner Donna Fiala during the canal’s brief dedication ceremony Thursday. “We are very pleased. It (the canal) is really an asset to the community.” Full story »

Iguana hunting may sound like a new sport, but for Chris Harlow it’s just another day at work. The city of Marco hired Christopher Harlow’s Wildlife Removal Services, based out of Cape Coral, in October after receiving council approval to seek bids on iguana removal services. Harlow’s $7,500 contract is for catching as many iguanas as possible in the next six months. He comes to the island one day each week and if city officials find the program is successful, his contract may be extended. Full story »

Red tide is present at Marco Island's South Beach according to Collier County Pollution Control and Prevention announcement. Very low levels of the bacteria indicate respiratory irritation is possible, but fish kills are unlikely. Full story »

Drought tolerant landscaping — popular with many Marco Islanders — isn’t simply a matter of jamming hardy plants into the earth and letting nature take care of the aesthetics. The trend is better known as Xeriscaping, and planned design is all important, said Karen Anglin of the Island Garden Center. Full story »

Fourth generation crabber Douglas Doxsee pulled his boat quayside at Capri Fisheries late Wednesday afternoon on the first day of stone crab season and shook a small bucket to signify he’d hauled in just a handful of the precious claws. Full story »

Lawn lovers eager to crank up their irrigation systems after months of drought-induced watering restrictions might want to give it up. The governing board of the South Florida Water Management District, meeting Thursday in West Palm Beach, voted 7-1 to enact permanent two-day-per-week restrictions in the 16-county district as a way to instill a year-round water conservation ethic and end the on-again, off-again restrictions that have become a seasonal rite in South Florida. Full story »

A multibillion-dollar effort to restore Florida's Everglades has made little progress amid funding shortfalls, bureaucratic red tape and disagreements, according to a congressionally mandated report that warns the vast wetland is in peril. Full story »

Several hundred visitors learned Rookery Bay Research Reserve’s history with an opportunity to see and touch many of its native inhabitants at a 30th anniversary celebration that coincided with National Estuaries Day on Saturday. Visitors learned that much occurred over the decades as told in stories by scientists about wild bear encounters, a rescue of a 45-foot whale with “eyes the size of soccer balls,” treasure hunters and decades of political shifts that affected the way the reserve operated. Full story »

The number of seawalls on Marco Island in significant disrepair continues to grow rapidly and the city is looking at how to prevent a community hazard as well as protect the community’s shrinking wallet. The number of seawalls found in violation of code for poor maintenance or complete failure is looking to nearly double this year with more than 100 such violations in 2007 and nearly 175 so far this year, said Eric Wardle, the city’s chief code enforcement officer. Full story »

Saturday morning, the Friends of Tigertail and other volunteers participated in the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Clean-up at Tigertail Beach. Keep Collier Beautiful provided T-shirts with sponsor names as well as gloves and plastic garbage bags. Kinetico home water systems provided bottled water for the volunteers. Full story »

Years ago, nothing existed on the sensitive wetlands between Naples and Marco Island that nature didn’t put there. With access limited to an occasional canoeist or hiker, what is now Rookery Bay was a pristine mangrove ecosystem. Full story »

Mitchell Rusk rolls out of bed with tousled blonde hair and big blue eyes, saunters to the lanai, grabs his fishing pole and begins his day on his backyard dock between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m., depending on the time of sunrise. He’s out fishing as late as sunset. He’s 5 years old and he’s been doing this for three years. Full story »

As Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Captain Jayson Horadam put it, “when you get eye to eye with this panther, it can be quite eerie.” FWC unveiled a panther educational tool named Ranger Monday at the Naples Field Office on Shell Island Road just north of Marco Island. Full story »

Litterbugs are alive and well and hurling all manner of refuse out of their cars, particularly on Collier Boulevard between the Isles of Capri and the Jolley Bridge. A team of Hideaway Beach residents know this only too well after adopting that section of the road and heading out with gloves and trash bags to pick up other people’s junk. Full story »

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are a common inhabitant of our bays, inlets, and estuaries. The social nature and behavior of these mammals make the chances of seeing one very likely while out on the water. Full story »