Cameratta Companies proposes to build a 3,300-acre development – “Kingston” – on former citrus groves upstream from Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, right at its northern boundary.
Any development of the site would impact wildlife and the larger watershed. While the property's zoning nevertheless allows development, the magnitude of the threat it poses to panthers, bears, water, and Audubon's Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary depends on how it is designed. As a result, Audubon has been meeting with the developer for two years, trying to influence the project design to minimize its impacts on imperiled species and our Ramsar-designated Wetland of International Importance.
The Issue
While Cameratta Companies has provided a mile setback from other projects they’ve built near Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, they are only proposing a 700-foot buffer from their Kingston roads, ditches, and houses. A more substantial buffer is essential for Audubon staff to continue restoring wetlands, conducting prescribed burns, and performing necessary land management activities.
The larger buffer would also benefit Kingston residents, reducing their risks of flooding and wildfire. Stormwater runoff from the development will also harm Sanctuary wetlands—contributing to algal bloom-fueling nutrient loads as the water makes its way to the coast.
Despite Audubon requests, the project does not include a needed wildlife underpass for Corkscrew Road, where large mammals travel south to Corkscrew Sanctuary; the design provides no consideration for this important wildlife movement linkage north and south of that crossing location. This linkage should be protected with a width of 600 feet or more for safe use by bears and panthers.
These critical design changes all are reasonable and doable fixes for such a large project.
We Need Your Voice by January 16.
Tell FDEP and Cameratta to fix the Kingston development plan to protect wildlife and natural resources at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.Click here to sign a petition letter to FDEP and Cameratta.
If you live in Southwest Florida, please attend the public hearing on this project held by FDEP on:
January 16
4-7 p.m.
East Lee County Library
881 Gunnery Rd N.
Lehigh Acres, Florida |
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