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County to Celebrate Completion of Blueway Paddling Trail
Nov 8, 2005 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FORT MYERS, Fla. (November 8, 2005) - The Board of Lee County Commissioners and paddling enthusiasts will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony Sunday (Nov. 13) to dedicate the Great Calusa Blueway Paddling Trail - a 100-mile paddling trail that winds through the county's estuaries and rivers. The ceremony will be at 10 a.m. at Matlacha Community Park, 4577 Pine Island Road. (IMPORTANT REMINDER: no general public parking will be permitted on the grounds of Matlacha Park. If you are attending the ceremony, please park your vehicle at the Elks Club or Phillips Park on Pine Island at the intersection of Stringfellow and Pine Island roads. A free van shuttle service will be running from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. throughout the day.) Lee County Commissioner Bob Janes will serve as master of ceremonies. He will be joined by representatives from Lee County Parks & Recreation, Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau, the tourism industry, and paddling groups. The ceremony is open to the public and area citizens are encouraged to attend the festivities. Following the ribbon cutting ceremony, there will be activities in the park until 4 p.m. Activities will include music, family games, food, Blueway guided tours, and fishing seminars. The Great Calusa Paddling Trail was developed by Lee County Parks & Recreation, and funded with tourist development tax dollars, specifically dedicated to beach and shoreline enhancement projects. Phase I runs from the Imperial River in southern Lee County, through Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve (encompassing the Estero River), up through Bunche Beach. It was completed in 2003. The second phase runs from Bunche Beach with branches through Matlacha Pass Aquatic Preserve and Pine Island Sound, ending at Cayo Costa. It has just been completed. (See attached Phase II map. A phase I map and information about the trail can be viewed at www.greatcalusablueway.com). The Lee County Tourist Development Council funded $170,000 for trail markers and maps. The West Coast Inland Navigation District also funded $30,000 for trail maps. In 2004, the Blueway received the National Recreation Trail designation from the National Park Service. PROGRAM WRITE-UP The Great Calusa Blueway Paddling Trail Vision, Imagination and Dreaming of Great Possibilities***That's how the Great Calusa Blueway Paddling Trail began in 1995. Three Lee County Department Directors*.Elaine McLaughlin -- Visitor and Convention Bureau ( VCB ), Jim Lavender-Public Works and John Yarbrough -- Parks and Recreation started sharing with each other their vision on how to improve the quality of life for future generations of Lee County citizens and its visitors. They instantly realized that the Blueway was an idea whose time had come. They met with the Lee County Manager Don Stilwell who encouraged them to pursue their dream. And here we are today celebrating an idea that has become reality. The Great Calusa Blueway Paddling Trail, as a marked paddling trail from one end of the county to the other, affords the VCB a unique opportunity to promote Lee County as a destination for anyone who wants to enjoy nature and the outdoors in coastal Florida. The Lee County Tourist Development Council funded the costs for the development of the Blueway and the design/printing of the phase one map utilizing tourist tax revenue -- $85,000 in FY 2000-01 and another $85,000 in FY2001-02. A West Coast Inland Navigation District grant in the amount of $30,000 covered the cost for the development and printing of the trail map for the second phase. While a consultant was used to layout the first phase of the trail, Lee County Parks and Recreation staff members with assistance from the members of the Calusa Land Trust laid out the entire route for the second phase. With the completion of the second phase, the Blueway is now nearly 100 miles of marked paddling trail. It is also one component of an effort to develop a countywide system of interconnected trails, greenways and blueways. There are plans for a mapped third phase that covers the tributaries of the Caloosahatchee River. Safety was a big focus on the layout of the trial...both making sure that the paddlers were safe along the route and that trail markers were placed in safe areas so as to not impede boat traffic. Inspired by the Calusa Native Americans, the first residents of the area, The Great Calusa Blueway encompasses two distinct regions of the Gulf of Mexico coast. The first portion of the trail meanders through Estero Bay, while the second segment focuses on Pine Island Sound and Matlacha Pass. |