Calusa Blueway Paddling Festival draws attention back to nature's beauty

Diamond-glitter drops fell from the sculling paddles, forming interlacing ripples across the dark surface of the Estero River as more than a dozen canoes and kayaks set out from Estero River Outfitters Saturday morning.

"It is so important for people to be involved in the preservation of this area," said Estero Bay Buddies President Nancy Kilmartin. "Preservation not only in the terms of having it for future generations to enjoy, but in also in terms of regenerating life."

The group excursion, sponsored by the Estero Bay Buddies and guided by biologists from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, was part of the inaugural Calusa Blueway Paddling Festival.

Running from Friday through Sunday, the festival celebrated the official opening of the 100-mile paddling trail. Named for the Calusa, a Native American tribe inhabiting Southwest Florida up to 10,000 years ago, the Great Calusa Blueway extends from Charlotte Harbor to the Imperial River in Bonita Springs. The marked pathway includes routes along Pine Island, Captiva, Sanibel, Cape Coral and Fort Myers Beach as well a number of streams branching off the Caloosahatchee River.

In the midst of one of the fastest growing areas in Florida, if not the nation, the Estero River Canoe Trail, combined with Koreshan State Park and the Estero Bay Preserve State Park, carves out a green oasis among the ever-expanding gray of construction's concrete and steel.

The first aquatic preserve ever established in Florida, the 15 square miles of the Estero Bay Preserve offers hiking and paddling trails to take advantage of the wildlife and natural beauty of the area. With approximately 40 percent of the state's endangered and threatened species are found within the preserve, it also provides protection for the animal and plant species — species important to the preservation of all that makes South Lee County unique and wonderful, according to Florida native Kilmartin.

"Residents, and visitors, have to be aware of the environment we live in and the issues it faces as we grow," she said. "Everyone needs to be environmental citizens and be aware of the interconnectedness."

The immediacy and uniqueness of South Lee County's existing natural landscapes was a large part of the attraction that made Patty Kane eager to relocate when her husband's work brought him from Orlando to Fort Myers.

"We want to start taking advantage of living here and doing things on the water," she said Saturday as the dip of her paddle into the still water set a small heron into flight. "In Orlando, we could be from our home to our chairs on the beach in an hour, but this is different. That was a Sunday thing. This is right here; this is an everyday thing."

Kane, a plein air painter by trade, is looking forward to the "outdoor studio" of the Estero Bay Preserve to inspire her paintings. Although she had never been in a canoe or kayak before Saturday's 4-mile round trip paddle, Kane knows much of her work will be done within the varied landscapes of the preserve.

"There is a lot of history and a lot of beauty in the natural areas available to people here," said Florida Department of Environmental Protection Biologist Maulik Patel.

Patel, formerly an environmental specialist at Collier Seminole Park, has spent the past two months working in the Estero Bay Preserve. While his duties range from mending fences and detailing vegetation maps to prepping zones for prescribed fires, Patel said public interaction such as guiding Saturday's paddle trip reminds him what the work is all about.

"It is nice to do things like this," he said as he pointed out a bird nest low in the mangroves, two pale blue heron eggs nestled in the woven branches. "It reaffirms what you're struggling for every day."

Dr. Jim Wohlpart, one of the founding members of Estero Bay Buddies, feels there is a good base of support for environmental concerns in Lee County, but acknowledges there is always room for improvement. Wohlpart is also a professor of environmental literature and the Associate Dean of the Florida Gulf Coast University College of Arts and Sciences.

Stephen Giguere, biologist and environmental specialist for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, manned the lead boat during Saturday's excursion. Pointing out various plant and animal species, Giguere discussed the FDEP's continued efforts to control and eradicate exotic plants within the preserve's boundaries.

Removing invasive exotics continues to be a major focus of the department, he said. While progress is steady, he acknowledged new forms of exotic plants are continuing to take hold.

"In the six years I've been here, I've seen dramatic advances in resource management and controlling exotic species to restore the habitat," he said. "Fire ecology is key, getting fire on the ground and restoring these natural communities is essential."

To find out more about the Estero River section of the Great Calusa Blueway, visit http://www.greatcalusablueway.com/. To find out more about The Estero Bay Preserve, visit http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/sites/estero/info.htm. Estero Bay Buddies can be reached by calling Nancy Kilmartin at 936-1210. For those boating along the Estero River, there is a no-wake zone along the almost the entire stretch from Interstate 75 to the Bay, and observance of the regulation is essential for both boater and wildlife safety as well as the ecological fitness of the river.