Smalltooth Sawfish Puts Cape Coral Dock Construction Work on Hold

Since October, the construction of many seawalls, docks and boatlifts has been on hold in Cape Coral because of, among others, a pending study on the smalltooth sawfish, a species that is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List. In the United States, the smalltooth sawfish population was listed by the National Marine Fisheries Service as endangered under the ‘Endangered Species Act’ in 2003.

A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service study of the habitat of the endangered smalltooth sawfish, and other marine life, was requested last year by the Army Corps of Engineers. In the meantime, an agreement that had allowed the city to issue construction permits on behalf of the corps, because of an apparent “internal miscommunication,” lapsed on October 12. Since then, permit applications have had to go directly through the corps and this increased potential waits of construction applicants from 24-48 hours to an estimated 3-18 months.

The long waiting time and the uncertainty of approval has reportedly cut demand for work at the seawalls by half.  Councilman Kevin McGrail said the city wants to get the matter resolved soon. He said, “I think everyone understands this is very important to jobs in the city of Cape Coral and the growth of the construction industry, which is just starting to come back.”

On Monday, the Army Corp of Engineers announced that a solution to the problem may be in sight which would allow projects to begin flowing again, albeit with some restrictions. According to Tunis McElwain of the corps’ Fort Myers Regulatory Office, a new process  may be set in place by March which would include a 10-day period for the NOAA Fisheries to comment on each permit application.

Shelley Norton, the sawfish and Johnson seagrass coordinator for NOAA Fisheries, said the new rules would, among others, call for a ban on the use of impact hammers for the installation of metal piling and four new noise restriction zones may be added between March 1 and June 30 as “that’s when the mother sawfish are coming in to pup, to give birth.”

In related news, Lee County’s Conservation Land Acquisition and Stewardship Committee (CLASAC) has just examined a 2,500-acre chunk of Babcock Ranch that could be purchased with conservation funds. According to Parks Supervisor Cathy Olson said after Tuesday’s inspection, “It has great conservation value, and hopefully it will continue through the process. The most important thing is it’s a very large piece, adjacent to some of our other conservation land, which is very important when you’re trying to conserve land.”

The county before offering to buy conservation land has to have the CLASAC evaluate the property’s size, proximity to other conservation lands, abundance of native habitat and other attributes along with that property’s asking price. Larger properties that are close to existing nature preserves and feature diverse native habitats receive more points under the county’s scoring process. The scoring process is then used to rank properties against each other and prioritize them for purchase.

The 2,500 acre of Bobcock Ranch was offered to Lee County last November for $33.7 million by Kitson & Partners for purchase under the county’s Conservation 20/20 program, a program funded from a 50 cent tax the county levies on every $1,000 of taxable property value that was established to preserve the county’s open spaces and natural habitats.