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Many residents have called and emailed me to share their concerns and sadness about how our local waters and wildlife have been affected by the Red Tide bloom this summer. Newer residents are sometimes surprised to learn about this aspect of Gulf life, and long-time residents worry about this bloom's ferocity and endurance. Everyone is concerned about the scope of the fish kill, and the results they see (and sometimes smell) from their homes.
I share all these concerns and have been working closely with the County Manager’s office to determine the best way to address them. With the state’s Declaration of Emergency, some new resources have been made available, and your county staff quickly made use of them. We know ‘quickly’ can feel differently in the government world than in the private sector, but I am happy to report that arrangements have been made for both beachfront and inland waterways clean up to begin shortly.
There is still paperwork to pass, but staff has committed to executing the contract immediately upon receipt from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), and to beginning cleanup operations within 24 hours of contract execution. The contracts call for 60 continuous days of work, and we will watch carefully to ensure that is sufficient and adjust as needed.
That’s great news, and I’m very happy to be able to share it, but we have lots more Red Tide information in this special edition of the newsletter. Everyone (and I mean everyone!) should attend or watch next Wednesday’s Community Meeting on Red Tide. Details are below, and for our snowbirds (or just busy parents) we will livestream and post recordings of what is sure to be a fascinating learning experience for us all.
If you (or someone you know) have a local business that is being affected by Red Tide, please read to the bottom of the newsletter; the Community Foundation of Collier County may be able to help financially, and both our state and local governments need to hear from impacted business owners. Two survey links are below, as well. Please share these with anyone who needs them.
Thank you for your patience as these plans were put into place and go into effect. I will continue to monitor your reports from throughout the district, and once cleanup begins, you should continue to update our Pollution Control office (252-2502 or pollution_control@colliergov.net) with locations that need to be addressed. As always, my office is happy to hear from you and assist with this, or any other issues you may have. And we’ll be back next week with a regular edition of the newsletter!
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Learn what we know - and don't know - about red tide from where ever in the world you are this summer.
Collier County Government is hosting a public information meeting concerning Florida red tide. Scientists from Mote Marine Laboratory, an independent research institution that has studied Florida red tide for decades, will join representatives from our own county staff and from the South Florida Water Management District to share information about this organism and its effects. A question and answer session will follow the presentation.
The meeting will be shared via Facebook live and recorded for the government channel; we will share a link following the meeting. Your District 2 office will be in attendance; we hope to see you there!
For more information, contact public information coordinator Margie Hapke at (239) 252-2679 or Margie.Hapke@colliercountyfl.gov
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Please encourage businesses being affected by the Southwest Florida Red Tide to complete a business damage assessment survey for our state government that can be accessed by clicking the image above. They should then select “Southwest Florida Red Tide” as the event and complete the rest of the survey.
Your local government wants to hear from you, too. Click HERE to complete a short survey on how your business has been affected for the Collier Tourist Development Council.
This data collection is very important for a couple of reasons: First, it helps us plan for how best to serve the community in future natural disasters like this. Second, it's easy to see the environmental toll on our beaches and waterways. But the financial hardships for our local businesses can be harder to see. Documenting this economic damage helps build political support for policies to intervene in advance, whether by allocating more funds for researching red tide and its causes and interactions, or putting into place automatic triggers for responsive actions for the next time. Our representatives in Tallahassee and Washington DC need this information to be our advocates.
So please take a few minutes to complete the surveys. I have spoken with local families that are suffering economically, but so far, the state survey shows no effected businesses from Collier County; help spread the word by sharing or forwarding this info. Thank you!
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The Community Foundation of Collier County has opened the 'Care for Collier Fund' with the assistance of local government and the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce.
The Care for Collier Fund will offer support to small water-based businesses in Collier County -- fishing and charter or water tour businesses, water monitoring equipment, and educational programs -- whose income has been adversely affected due to extreme red tide conditions.
Click above to learn more or to apply.
Use the links below to share with anyone you know
who may be affected!
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