SANIBEL-CAPTIVA CONSERVATION FOUNDATION SCCF ANNUAL REPORT • FISCAL YEAR 2018-2019 Founded in 1967, SCCF is dedicated to the conservation of coastal habitats and aquatic resources on Sanibel and Captiva and in the surrounding watershed through its program areas: Marine Laboratory Wildlife & Habitat Management Natural Resource Policy Native Landscapes & Garden Center Sea Turtles & Shorebirds Environmental Education Land Acquisition & Stewardship Connections November 2019 Dear Valued Members and Friends, What a year this has been! In September 2018 we announced SCCF’s new CEO and we spent the fall celebrating Erick Lindblad’s extraordinary 33-year tenure as a mentor and leader. Ryan took the helm in January 2019, and the ensuing months have featured a very successful transition and the emergence of new ideas and energy – including an update to SCCF’s strategic plan. We are entering the future bravely and thoughtfully and want to share several themes that will Doug Ryckman and Ryan Orgera guide SCCF in that future. COMMITMENT - Erick and the extraordinary SCCF staff shaped a culture of love for their jobs and appreciation of each other. Our dedicated team members are committed to SCCF’s mission and pour their hearts into all of its work. We are extremely proud of our people and the values they continue to demonstrate every day. VIGILANCE - SCCF has fought to protect our islands for over 52 years. We have been highly successful, preserving over 1,850 acres, educating innumerable citizens and visitors, and advocating for nature in Fort Myers, Tallahassee, and Washington. The SCCF RECON Network is our islands’ first line of defense in monitoring coastal water quality, and our sea turtle and shorebird programs nurture fragile wildlife populations. These are just two examples of the first-rate work being done across all of our program areas. SCCF’s compass will always point to the conservation of the Sanibel and Captiva ecosystems as our “True North” and highest priority. FORESIGHT - At the same time, we need to recognize that our islands are part of a larger system and that our greatest threats come to us from outside our islands: blue-green algae, Red Tide, wetland loss, unfettered development, and ultimately climate change and sea level rise. To address these external threats, we will advocate for science-based policies and actions that anticipate and deal with these challenges at their source. We will choose our battles carefully but will be unafraid to take on issues that appear distant but are ultimately critical for our island and neighboring communities, including humans and critters. GRATITUDE - We are excited for SCCF’s future. We are fortunate to live in this extraordinary place, and are honored that our members, supporters, volunteers, and friends entrust us to keep it special. We hope you enjoy this annual report. Most importantly, please view it as an introduction to the future, as well as a grateful look at the past. Thank you for being part of our commitment to conservation. We could not do this critically important work without you. Sincerely, Ryan Orgera, Ph.D. Douglas Ryckman Chief Executive Officer President Connections ANNUAL REPORT FY2018-2019 | 1 Photo: Janet Kirk POLICY CONNECTIONS The Natural Resource Policy department connects SCCF’s science Policy in Motion to the protection and conservation of our region’s natural resources. • Produced Weekly Caloosahatchee • Engaged community members in We work with the SCCF Marine Condition Reports trip to lobby lawmakers in Tallahassee Laboratory to monitor, interpret, • Successfully pushed for additional for Everglades Action Day and communicate water quality monitoring of water flow and quality • Legislative: conditions and trends, advise on from Lake O and the Caloosahatchee • Supported updated shark fishing problems, and craft public policy watershed regulations, land acquisition for solutions. We work with our sea • Petitioned the state to establish drinking water supply and water turtle and shorebird programs to standards for toxic algae exposure quality treatment, a ban on fracking address human impacts such as in water and air • Opposed bad growth light pollution from inland cities that • Invited to testify at U.S. Senate management and home rule cause disorientations and threaten committee hearing in DC on devastating pre-emption bills nesting species. effects of the 2018 Red Tide • Federal: Supported and promoted We seek to build a chorus of voices • Promoted and engaged the public banning offshore oil drilling by building consensus across in calling for state and federal • Local: Pressed for strengthening communities. One loud voice is the Everglades funding wetland protections and most effective tool. In addition to • Presenter on water quality at the coastal high hazard protections, environmental organization peers, Everglades Coalition Conference preventing wetland development we developed relationships and • Actively engaged in Comprehensive in mangroves along Shell Point partnerships with local Chambers, Everglades Restoration Plan project Boulevard, Captiva study of Realtors, League of Cities, Mayors evaluations: Lake Okeechobee septic-to-sewer conversion, Lee and our Business Roundtable Watershed Project, Everglades County land acquisition (serving members. This strategy helped to Agricultural Area Reservoir project, C43 on the Conservation 2020 CLASAC provide broad support for Everglades (Caloosahatchee) Reservoir project and committee) restoration projects and funding at water quality treatment, revision of the • Sustainability efforts on our islands the state and federal levels. Lake Okeechobee management plan and in our state HOW YOU Please become a member or renew your membership by using CAN HELP the enclosed envelope or donating at www.sccf.org. 2 | SCCF — SANIBEL-CAPTIVA CONSERVATION FOUNDATION MARINE LABORATORY Studying Water Quality and Algae Blooms The Marine Lab teamed up with University of Florida (Dr. Ed Phlips) and North Carolina State University (Dr. Natalie Nelson) to study the Caloosahatchee and harmful algae blooms. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation under the RAPID program, which awards projects with an immediate need; last summer’s algae blooms were the justification. The goal is to determine if there was any connectivity between blooms occurring in the Caloosahatchee and those occurring in the Gulf of Mexico. We are using traditional microscopy, nutrient analysis, RECON (River Estuary & Coastal Observing Network) data, and the Lab’s FlowCam to describe, model, and analyze the 2018-2019 phytoplankton blooms. Two student interns from University of Iowa are developing independent projects and being mentored as part of the project. OYSTER RESTORATION The Lab has applied for permits for an additional 20 acres of oyster reef restoration. Highly successful restoration projects since 2009 include a total of four acres in Clam Bayou, San Carlos Bay and Tarpon Bay. Improved oyster reefs are not only good for the ecosystem but also for making our coasts more storm-resistant. Water quality sampling in the Caloosahatchee and Gulf of Mexico. Using Science to Improve Water Quality on Sanibel Based on the research and recommendations developed with the City of Sanibel Natural Resources staff, the SCCF nutrient management plan has been used as a scientific basis for several large projects: 1. The City will be upgrading its wastewater treatment plant, reducing the amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus contained in the reclaimed water used to irrigate the island’s golf courses. 2. Jordan Marsh, a new filtration marsh, was constructed using City property and SCCF conservation land to reduce nitrogen loads in Effluent sampler, Jordan Marsh the Sanibel Slough. Monitoring by the Marine Lab is ongoing. Photo: Holly Milbrandt ANNUAL REPORT FY2018-2019 | 3 The R/V Norma Campbell We used our new research vessel, the R/V Norma Campbell, to study an unprecedented dead zone, an area of water devoid of oxygen in the Gulf, related to Red Tide, dying fish, and stratification. Other uses of the Norma Campbell include sea turtle rescues and transporting and maintaining the RECON sensor network and offshore wave buoy. Our research vessel enables us to service this offshore wave buoy Red Tide and Sea Turtles From July to November 2018, Sea Turtle Coordinator Kelly Sloan and Marine Lab Scientist Dr. Rick Bartleson dissected 60 sea turtles that died that summer to examine their stomach contents and test for brevetoxins (the Red Tide toxin), including sending samples for grant-funded specialized analysis by a NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) chemist. The most common prey items of the Kemp’s Ridley and Loggerhead sea turtles were crustaceans and molluscs (pen shells, ark shells, whelks, tulip snails, horse conchs, fighting conchs, moon snails, and sharks eyes). Preliminary tests of brevetoxin levels in gut contents, livers, and some muscle and blood samples revealed high levels in the majority of the samples. Kelly Sloan presented preliminary results at the International Sea A New Lab Facility Turtle Symposium in Charleston in February 2019. The The Marine Lab moved into a new facility, constructed in partnership samples that tested the highest were extracted and sent with the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge and the U.S. Fish & to NOAA for further analysis. Wildlife Service. The new building was built to a LEED Gold standard, Link to the Marine Lab’s publication list and new lab equipment helps our scientists