Picayune Strand in eastern Collier County sits in the heart of the Big Cypress Basin and provides essential habitat for a variety of species. Picayune Strand State Forest is an expansive wilderness habitat of more than 74,000 acres including cypress strands, wet prairie, pine flatwoods and subtropical hardwood hammocks.
The site was once slated for a very different future. It was drained by developers in the initial steps of what was to become the largest subdivision in the world.
In the mid-2000s an ambitious $435 million effort got underway to restore the natural hydrology of more than 55,000 acres in Picayune Strand, which also benefits associated ecosystems including Collier Seminole State Park, the Ten Thousand Island National Wildlife Refuge, and Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
According to the South Florida Water Management District, 99 percent of the 285 miles of crumbling roadways and pavement have been removed, 100 percent of tram roads have been eliminated, and 70 percent of the 48 miles of canals have been plugged.
Florida Gulf Coast University Professor in the Department of Ecology & Environmental Studies Win Everham, Ph.D., has been monitoring the progress of this restoration work for years.
He recently spoke with WGCU’s John Davis ahead of a talk he’ll give next Wednesday, Aug. 28 titled, “Picayune Strand Restoration Project: It Could have been Cape Coral South.”
The Aug. 28 lecture takes place on the first floor of the FGCU library at 11:30 a.m. Those interested, but unable to attend in person can hear the lecture via Microsoft Teams here: https://fgcu.libcal.com/calendar/events/SSAug24.
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