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Restoration of Preserve Lands a Top Priority

Anyone who travels on Sanibel-Captiva Road these days notices dead vegetation, especially near at the curve by the American Legion, where cabbage palms (Sabal palmetto) are in the process of removal from J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge lands.
At SCCF, we’ve been receiving calls and concerns about these trees and would like to take the opportunity to explain how we are continuing to restore our preserve lands in these unprecedented post-hurricane times on our island. As the largest private landowner on Sanibel, we are responsible for maintaining more than 1,800 acres of land.
Since September 2022, habitat restoration efforts on SCCF conservation lands have been focused on dead vegetation removal. Those efforts became even more challenging this fall. The severe storm surge from Hurricanes Ian, Helene, and Milton caused a tremendous amount of damage to our less salt-tolerant plant life on our conservation lands due to saltwater inundation for extended periods of time.
Some of this vegetation died immediately, but others took longer to finally succumb, such as gumbo limbo (Bursera simaruba). After Ian, state-funded contractors worked diligently on City and several SCCF properties in January 2023 to remove dead vegetation before the state funding finally ran out in the spring of 2023.
SCCF funded private contractors to continue to remove dead vegetation from our Gulf Ridge, Sea Spray, and West Sanibel River Preserves. In September 2024, additional saltwater intrusion from Hurricanes Helene and Milton caused many trees that were on the edge of survival from Ian to finally perish.
SCCF continues to fund and work with private contractors to remove the remaining dead vegetation from conservation lands to minimize the wildfire hazard and to give newly sprouted native vegetation a better chance to grow so our wildlife habitats can recover. SCCF’s Coastal Watch also continues to organize volunteer-driven clean-ups and plantings of our preserves.
All of these efforts will improve the appearance along our roadways to support our residential communities and tourism-based economy. SCCF has not treated or removed live native trees such as cabbage palms in this recovery phase.
The only exception is the removal of live invasive exotic vegetation, such as Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius), Australian pines (Casuarina equisetifolia), and climbing cassia (Senna pendula), etc. encountered on conservation lands during the removal of dead vegetation.
SCCF stands with our community during the recovery from the recent storm events and is working diligently to improve the function and appearance of our conservation lands.
These actions are time-consuming and costly and are prioritized by risk. SCCF’s priorities are to provide natural habitat for wildlife and ensure the safety of Sanibel’s residents and visitors adjacent to our properties.
If you have questions or concerns about the restoration of our natural areas following the recent hurricanes, please reach out to SCCF Wildlife & Habitat Management Director Chris Lechowicz at clechowicz@SCCF.org. Thank you for your patience.