Back in 2018, Connie Ramos-Williams was driving over the old Sanibel Bridge when she saw the depth and breadth of that year’s blue-green algae outbreak. The nasty green goo was everywhere, affecting everything. Ramos-Williams burst into tears.
At that moment, she promised herself, if she ever got the chance to do anything about the harmful algae bloom crisis, she would.
Now, as the new director of Calusa Waterkeeper, she is front and center in the fight against harmful algae blooms.
“I came out of early retirement to take the role of director of the Calusa Waterkeeper because I really do find it my mission to help protect our number one natural resource and that’s water,” she said. “We are facing a crisis with our water. And if our generation doesn’t do something to find solutions to restore clean water in our communities it’s going to get passed on to our next generation.”
Calusa Waterkeeper, 400-people-strong and mainly comprised of volunteers, works to restore and maintain the health of the Caloosahatchee River, which flows from Lake Okeechobee to the Gulf of Mexico, and its surrounding watersheds. That’s 1,000 square miles of water in all that Ramos-Williams is going to try and find a way to keep clean for future generations.
“We can't keep passing the buck,” she said. “We need to do something now. We can find solutions. We can help to preserve our water."
“We can't keep passing the buck. We need to do something now. We can find solutions."
— Connie Ramos-Williams
The international Waterkeeper Alliance includes more than 300 Waterkeeper organizations and affiliates spanning six continents. With a mission rooted in the belief that everyone has a right to clean water, the alliance works to restore their lakes and streams from harm yesterday, keep them clean today, and protect them for future generations.
In the region stretching from Tampa Bay down to the Florida Keys, several Waterkeeper organizations are active doing just such work.
Tampa Bay Waterkeeper focuses on safeguarding the coastal and inland waters around the greater Tampa Bay region.
Suncoast Waterkeeper serves the coastal areas of Manatee, Sarasota, and northern Charlotte counties.
Collier County Waterkeeper is committed to preserving swimmable, drinkable, and fishable waters in Southwest Florida while working to keep the region’s beaches as pristine as possible.
In Calusa Waterkeeper’s leadership group, Ramos-Williams joins Codty Pierce, a local charter boat captain with deep roots in Southwest Florida’s environment, who became the “Calusa Waterkeeper” one year ago.
Pierce, a native of Lee County, is a lifelong outdoorsman who grew up fishing the local waters and observing the hydrology and environments of Pine Island Sound, Charlotte Harbor, and Estero Bay. He also has experience in wetlands restoration and native landscaping.
Ramos-Williams is looking forward to working with Pierce, and with the larger family of Waterkeeper groups because she believes someday, somebody, somewhere, will figure out how to beat red tide and blue-green algae.
“I think the two of us can really accomplish a lot,” Ramos-Williams said. “And we're part of a global organization, Waterkeeper Alliance, right? If somebody found a solution, that something's working somewhere, guess what? That's something that can work here, too.”
Ramos-Williams will start full-time on April 1.
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