CIYC to host Everglades presentation, airboat tour
The Captiva Island Yacht Club will host a presentation on Everglades restoration efforts with Eric Eikenberg, chief executive officer of the Everglades Foundation, and senior ecologist Dr. Stephen E. Davis III on Feb. 7 from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m.
Eikenberg and Davis will share a short history of the Everglades, a vibrant ecosystem that once extended all the way south from the current day Orlando through Lake Okeechobee and into the Florida Bay. They will trace man’s efforts to change the ecosystem, creating one of America’s fastest-growing regions and providing access to some of the most productive farmland on the planet.
Learn about the unintended consequences of those efforts that now have contributed to environmental devastation of what remains of the “River of Grass,” and led to flood controls that have given rise to frequent outbreaks of toxic blue-green algae and red tide. Sanibel and Captiva have seen these impacts for years, but most dramatically this past summer.
Both speakers will discuss ongoing and planned restoration efforts, including the Everglades Reservoir, a 16,000-acre dynamic water storage and filtration project located on state-owned land south of Lake Okeechobee. The reservoir is planned to replenish the Everglades and reduce algae-causing discharges by more than half.
In addition, the Captiva Island Yacht Club is organizing a guided “River of Grass” airboat tour of the Everglades on Feb. 20 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. departing from and returning to the club. The tour is complimentary, but donations to the Everglades Foundations are appreciated. Seating is limited for the bus/boat tour; reservations are on a first come, first served basis.
For more information or to register for the tour, contact Debi Almeida at reservations@CaptivaIYC.net or 239-472-4133 ext. 2.
The Captiva Island Yacht Club is at 15903 Captiva Drive.