The Town of Fort Myers Beach has received authorization from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) in consultation with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to extend the construction window for the south segment of the Beach Renourishment Project to April 1st, 2025. The south beach segment (R-203 to R-207) is located within the Little Estero Island Critical Wildlife Area (LEICWA), which is utilized by several state-listed beach nesting birds. This extension is required due to project delays from a number of unavoidable factors, which included impacts from Hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton during the Summer of 2024 after the project commenced.
The Town is committed to following all conditions of the FDEP permit to construct the beach, including daily monitoring of bird nesting activity, posting and notifying FWC of any active nests once they are observed. The combination of these avoidance measures and minimization of impacts to bird nesting activities constitutes avoidance of take in accordance with FWC Imperiled Beach Nesting Bird Guidelines.
This one time only extension of the environmental construction window for the restoration of the southern end of Estero Island is in the public’s interests, as it will increase protection from future storm events and sea level rise, create a sustainable habitat for marine turtle and shorebird species, and protect the recreational use of this shoreline.
The south segment is expected to be complete by mid March, and the central segment is expected to be compete by the 1st week of April. All beach construction activities will cease on or before April 15, 2025.