Charlotte Harbor Estuary Guide is an independent informational website about the Charlotte Harbor estuary in Southwest Florida: its waters, its wildlife and its care. Its readers are the people who live on, work on and visit these waters, from waterfront homeowners and anglers to kayakers, birdwatchers, teachers and students, and what the site offers them is plain explanation plus a quick route to the official source.
What this guide covers
The guide follows the harbor and its connected waters, from Lemon Bay and the Myakka and Peace rivers to Pine Island Sound, Matlacha Pass and the Caloosahatchee. It explains how the estuary works, how to read its conditions (algae blooms, water quality, storms and sea level), how to enjoy it without harming it (seagrass and mangroves, wading birds, manatees, fishing rules and paddling), and what households upstream can do about fertilizer and septic systems. The home page lists every guide.
What this site is not
This site does not run programs, events, festivals, grants, volunteer projects, monitoring or research. It does not sell anything, does not accept donations and does not take environmental reports.
For wildlife emergencies, injured manatees, fish kills or pollution, use the reporting pages of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). If people are in danger, call 911.
Not affiliated with any organization
Charlotte Harbor Estuary Guide is not affiliated with the Coastal & Heartland National Estuary Partnership (formerly the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program), with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, with any government agency, or with any organization or person that previously used this domain name. The official estuary program publishes its own plans and information at chnep.org. Nothing on this site speaks for any of these organizations.
How the pages are prepared
The pages draw on public agencies, including FWC, FDEP, the Florida Department of Health, NOAA, USGS, the water management districts and county governments, and on published research. Rules and figures that can change are dated, with the month they were checked. Facts that could not be confirmed against a primary source were left out. Pages are reviewed and updated when the underlying sources change.
Check the official source before you act
Bloom conditions change daily, and fishing limits, fertilizer ordinances and mangrove rules are amended from time to time. Pages such as the fishing rules summary and the red tide and blue-green algae check link to the agencies that publish the current information; use them before deciding. Nothing on this site is legal, medical, veterinary or other professional advice.
Corrections and suggestions
If you spot an error, an outdated rule or a broken link, or want to suggest a topic, please use the contact page. Name the page and the sentence, and include a link to an official source if you have one, so the correction can be checked quickly.