Audubon of Florida's Dr. Paul Gray reports from his Caloosahatchee River Oxbow boat tour. Enjoy his account of this unique Florida place:
On May 8, I went on the Caloosahatchee River Oxbow boat tour, that is lead by Rae Ann Wessel of the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF). I’ve known and worked with Rae Ann for years, and especially since joining the SCCF, she has become a very effective voice for the Caloosahatchee River. We spend time together at endless meetings and calls, often contentious ones, working for better treatment of the river and today is a special treat for me—I just get to enjoy the River and can learn more about it from her.
We boarded the 47- passenger “Manatee Rover” pontoon boat at the Franklin Locks (labeled “S-77” on Corps of Engineers maps) on the Caloosahatchee River. These are the last locks on the Caloosahatchee River as you move down from Lake Okeechobee and they separate the fresh water of the river from the saltier water of the estuary and Gulf of Mexico.
Myriad fish and crabs locked through with us. The Caloosahatchee Canal (C-43) is wide and deep, being designed to handle massive releases from Lake Okeechobee during wet periods. Unfortunately, this connection is unnatural and so much water can come down the canal that the estuary is turned completely fresh, wiping out the estuarine organisms, and taking years to recover. Part of Okeechobee’s restoration plans are to move that excess water back to the Everglades where it is needed, and away from the estuary where it is a problem.
Although the Caloosahatchee canal isn’t much for biological interest, there are interesting homes (one with a camel in the yard) and boats parading by. The Caloosahatchee River originally was very winding and many of these meanders remain. We boated through the meanders and Rae Ann narrated their natural and human histories, with stories even including Jimmy Hoffa. The meanders are shallow and full of plants and wildlife. We even found an otter swimming along the bank.
On the return trip, we passed the Olga drinking water plant. It has been closed part of the year because of salt in the river. During drought, the estuary needs Okeechobee water to maintain proper salinity, but SFWMD has consistently recommended giving no Lake Okeechobee water to the estuary, leading to this salinity problem (similar to full fresh water releases, full ocean salinity also knocks out the estuary organisms—leaving this beautiful area vulnerable to the double whammies of being too fresh or too salty, to its biota). The result has been that the estuary received barely more than an inch of Lake water this dry season, compared with about 22 inches given to other users. Audubon finds this situation grossly inequitable and will continue pushing for low dry-period flows to the Caloosahatchee.
SCCF runs these boat tours monthly during the winter and the schedule can be found on their website. It’s a fun, comfortable cruise and I highly recommend it!
