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Natural, Healthy Beaches
Beaches here are renowned for their long history of preservation by indigenous peoples and settlers from afar. Visitors reap the benefits as natural beaches provide a home and food sources for native flora and fauna.
By Juliette Reynolds
Beaches here are renowned for their long history of preservation by indigenous peoples and settlers from afar. Visitors reap the benefits as natural beaches provide a home and food sources for native flora and fauna.
By Juliette Reynolds
The beaches along The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel have played host to conservationists throughout the ages. The area's first known inhabitants, the Calusa Indians, lived in harmony with the earth along the lacy coastline, taking their sustenance from the fruits of land and sea.
A History of Stewardship
In the early part of the last century, eco-minded folks took to the unspoiled landscape, and one person in particular, noted political cartoonist J.N. "Ding" Darling, spearheaded the effort by helping to create the wildlife sanctuary on Sanibel Island that bears his name.
These pioneers of preservation have an assist today from local and state governments, as well as a population that has taken stewardship of the area's natural assets. Unlike many beaches in Florida, most on The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel are left ungroomed.
One result is the naming of Lee County’s beaches as healthy by the National Healthy Beaches Campaign, headed up by Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman, a.k.a. Dr. Beach. Beaches are evaluated based on 35 environmental and service-based criteria, including water quality, public services, litter control and proactive environmental management stances. Lee County’s beaches are monitored monthly.
  Shells line the coast |
While some communities may like the "neat and tidy" beach look achieved by large machines that sift the sand, the folks here prefer a landscape as undisturbed as possible by man. It's the difference between preferring a wildflower meadow to a well-manicured lawn.
"It's been a discussion that's really been mostly at the city level," says Steve Boutelle, natural resources manager for Lee County. "Sanibel Island as a city has kind of led the way on this, and they've had a long-standing policy that they did not want to groom their beaches… wanted to leave them in a more natural condition."
Wildlife Haven
Apart from aesthetics, there are more compelling reasons for this manner of beach management.
A wide variety of birds and other wildlife gather at the wrack lines, as the tide lines are known, to dine on the nutrient-rich algae, as well as on creatures higher up the food chain that are drawn there. As a result, the islands are a favorite of naturalists and bird-watchers, who come to observe their favorite Southwest Florida fauna.
And, the scenic driftwood and fallen limbs that decorate the beaches here have a positive impact on the ecosystem. There's a sense that such debris helps anchor the sand and encourage sea oat growth, which in turn helps the development of the typical three-to-four foot dunes here. "Even those small features become important for sea turtle nesting," says Boutelle.
Overall, you'll find the beaches on The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel attractive in their natural beauty, especially on the non-bridged islands such as North Captiva and Cayo Costa.
Adds Boutelle, "Mother Nature does the management there."
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