Message From The Manager

It is a place of many appearances depending on the time of day and season, but regardless of the moment, Estero Bay is a nature lover’s paradise.

Estero Bay’s shallow depths lend it to become a different setting entirely during low tide. Waters recede and acres of mudflats and oysters are exposed, giving the area an extraplanetary feel. At first glance, these areas look devoid of life and often go unnoticed but look again! Mudflats are an important habitat that can support a large population of organisms such as tube worms, mollusks, crustaceans and tunicates. Like the bay’s seagrass beds and mangrove islands, these habitats are vital to the health of the estuary. Mudflats and oyster bars attract many species of wading birds that come to feed on the exposed land and mollusk reefs.

In nearby “deeper” waters, small fish and crustaceans make their home among the seagrass beds. Important fishing species including seatrout and mangrove snapper also spend part of their life cycle in seagrass beds, while manatees forage here. Red mangroves provide shelter for a variety of wildlife, both above the water, such as colonial wading and diving birds, and below the surface. Their prop roots serve as a protected nursery area for fishes, crustaceans and shellfish.

In this vital ecosystem, not only do Florida’s beloved species thrive, but visitors come to enjoy the preserve’s aesthetic beauty. The Lee County Conservation Association was formed by fishermen, conservationists and other concerned citizens who knew that then, just as now, Estero Bay is a unique place worthy of protection for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations.

Sincerely, 

Stephanie Erickson