The town of Fort Myers Beach on March 6th voted to approve the building of a 300-foot bridge that would allow beach access from two private homes. Audubon Florida has filed a legal challenge to the approval. Their claim is that the bridge will harm the habitat of four threatened bird species.
Brad Cornell is with the Audubon Florida:
“The area where the bridge would be located is important foraging habitat for lots of coastal birds,” he said. “The bridge would reduce the nesting productivity of these threatened species.”
Although the town denied applications for this bridge twice before, two new council members who were elected in November of 2022 changed the vote in favor of building the bridge.
The area where the homeowners plan to build the bridge is one of the two most important sites where sea and shore birds nest and hatch chicks.
Audubon Florida’s Brad Cornell again:
“There are very few isolated, protected coastal habitats like this,” he said. “There’s only two in SWFL that are this important for these listed species.”
The legal challenge is currently before a judge in Fort Myers; the parties are waiting for the judge’s response.
The Fort Myers Beach Mayor’s office did not respond to a request for comment before air time.
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