Charlotte Harbor, FL

Charlotte Harbor is a 270-square-mile estuary on the southern Gulf Coast of Florida located at the confluence of three rivers (the Myakka, the Peace, and the Caloosahatchee). It is bounded by five barrier islands: Sanibel, Captiva, North Captiva, Cayo Costa, and Gasparilla. The harbor is the heart of a watershed 4,468 square miles in size, the nation’s eighteenth largest estuarine system.

The Charlotte Harbor estuary is unique in that it has a dynamic salinity balance as a result of the three rivers that empty into the harbor. As a result, it is home to a diversity of unique subtropical flora and fauna, including rare birds, manatees, cypress swamps, mangroves, and other biologically important species. The interface between land and water also makes the area very attractive for human settlement.

In part because of this abundance of natural resources and good weather, the three core counties in which Charlotte Harbor is located (Sarasota, Charlotte, and Lee) have had substantial population growth over the last half of the twentieth century. Between 1960 and 2000, population in these three counties increased by over 700,000 persons (a 518 percent increase) from 144,000 to 890,100. The population of the area is expected to reach 1,382,500 by 2020. The continuing desirability of the area for retirees, increased phosphate mining in upstream areas, more intensive agriculture/ranching in interior counties, and decreases in groundwater levels have all exerted great influence on the natural system in and around Charlotte Harbor. These forces have caused an overall decline in the quality of the estuarine resources.

In 1979, in response to this rapid growth and increased strain on the ecosystem in the three coastal counties bordering Charlotte Harbor (and the subsequent degradation of the adjacent natural resources), then-governor Bob Graham initiated a Resource Planning and Management Program for Charlotte Harbor by appointing a committee to study the area. The mission of the committee was to develop a comprehensive and coordinated program to resolve present and future problems that endangered the natural resources and burdened the public facilities within the area governed by multiple levels of government.

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