Keep Lee County Beautiful Aids in Mangrove Restoration

Following a maintenance error that resulted in the unpermitted removal of local mangroves, a Florida municipality partnered with Keep Lee County Beautiful (KLCB) to restore the affected area. One year ago, the municipality’s staff was approved to remove mangroves that were impeding a local waterway but unfortunately went beyond the permitted section resulting in a mandate to restore the area.

“They reached out to Keep Lee County Beautiful because we have done mangrove restoration projects on state lands for the last 5 years totaling more than 50,000 mangroves planted,” said Trish Fancher, executive director of Keep Lee County Beautiful. “They also know we plant VERY carefully and have a more than 80% success rate…meaning more than 80% of our seedlings are expected to make it to maturity.”

This past July, KLCB and its volunteers planted 164 one-gallon red mangroves along approximately 640 feet of shoreline. Due to the location of the property, volunteers were transported to the restoration area via boats.

Florida has an estimated 469,000 acres of mangrove forests, which are protected by state and local regulations, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection website.