Sierra Club Calusa Group
September 2026 Newsletter

BAG A TAG
SPARE A BEAR

Florida's 2026 bear tag lottery opens
Friday, September 11 at 10:00 AM EST!

For the second year in a row, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is set to hold a bear hunt this December with 215 bear hunting permits issued through a lottery system.
 

📅 Upcoming Events & Trainings

September 12 — Outings Leader Training Help the Calusa Group Get Outdoors! Become an Outings Leader for the Sierra Club by taking the free leader training.

🌊 September 19 is Almost Here! 
Our Waters, Our Vote

If clean water matters to you—and in Southwest Florida, how could it not?—we hope you'll join us for Our Waters, Our Vote: SWFL Water Summit 2026.

This isn't a day devoted to simply telling you that our waters are in trouble. We already know that. Instead, we're bringing together an exceptional group of speakers to help us understand what is changing, why it matters here at home, and what we can do about it. Changes to the Clean Water Act are reshaping which waters and wetlands receive federal protection—with consequences that could affect everyone who loves to swim, fish, boat, take swamp walks or just enjoy our waters for years to come.

And because this is an election year, we're taking it one step further. How do you turn what you learn about water into questions for the people asking for your vote? We'll connect the issues to the decisions made by federal, state, and local elected officials—so you can leave better prepared to ask candidates where they stand and what they intend to do.

Additionally, you will have an opportunity to meet several of our sponsoring organizations who all care about our waters and our environment.
 
Come curious. Learn what others are doing. Learn what you can do. Bring a friend.

Join our sponsors and concerned residents from across Southwest Florida for a day devoted to something that connects every one of us: our water. Be sure to register as space is limited!!!
 

•    Royal C. Gardner, Professor of Law, Hugh F. Culverhouse Chair, Director of the Stetson Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy, author of "Waters of the United States" (2024)
•    Gil Smart, Executive Director VoteWater, columnist and long-time investigative reporter in Pennsylvania and Florida's Treasure Coast
•    Matt DePaolis, Environmental Policy Director, Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF)
•    Moderator: Marsha Ellis, 2nd VP of LWVLee and Sierra Club Calusa Group executive committee

📍 Environmental Voter Project Virtual Event September 20 — learn strategies to mobilize environmental voters.

We all know the great outdoors won't be so great anymore if we don't mobilize the vote against politicians who support policies that are destroying our environment.

The Clean Water Act was gutted. The Endangered Species Act is, well, an endangered species! And we all see the floods, wildfires, and heatwaves raging on nightly newscasts.

You really can make a difference. Join the Sierra Club for an educational session on the Environmental Voter Project. EVP uses proven data models to get environmental advocates off the couch and into the voting booth, even for local elections.

These folks at EVP are the real deal. They have identified the right target audiences and matched them with the right messages. They create repeat voters who participate in every election. They get results!

Join us to find out more. We'll also be conducting a phone bank to reach out to some of these like-minded folks who, for whatever reason, haven't been voting.

YOU WILL NOT BE WASTING YOUR TIME. REGISTER HERE
 

🏭 Buckingham-Lehigh Acres Incinerator Permit Renewal Update

An FDEP public meeting was held on August 19, 2026 about the renewal of the Title V - Major Stationary Source of Air Pollution for Lee County's large municipal waste incinerator (Resource Recovery Facility). This is one of eight remaining in Florida, and fifty-seven in the U.S. Located in the Buckingham community, the incinerator borders Lehigh Acres and is operated by Reworld.

This facility is today and has always been, as described in the permit renewal under ideal operating conditions, a Major Stationary Source of Air Pollution. Title V operating permits are obligatory for facilities that are major sources of air pollutants.

Having reached its standard 30-year operational lifespan, Lee County recently sought an "end of life extension" for the facility. During the "end of life extension" and Title V renewal comment periods, the public requested a meeting that was ultimately granted by FDEP.

Why This Matters

The incinerator borders a community park, baseball fields, active agricultural lands, and three local schools fall within three miles. Proximity of the incinerator creating risks and exposing children raises enhanced concerns for compatibility with the surrounding community.

The Buckingham and Lehigh Acres neighborhoods nearby disproportionately bear the entire environmental burden of the region's rapid growth.

Following Hurricane Ian, the facility exceeded allowable limits for highly toxic dioxins and furans while burning complex storm waste. Studies indicate pollutants attributed to incinerators, such as dioxin, concentrate in the fats of agricultural products like eggs, milk, and meat, posing elevated risks to children, young families, local farmers, and fishers.

Furthermore, the facility holds a permit to burn tires which actively does up to 5% of the waste stream, and sewage sludge which is not currently being acted upon. In Lake County, operator Reworld has conducted tests burning PFAS hazardous "forever" chemicals in a similar, smaller municipal waste incinerator.

At a recent follow-up Buckingham Community Association meeting, residents voiced their preference that all future public meetings be held closer to the affected community rather than miles away. The community is asking for continuous emission monitoring of the most harmful pollutants and the installation of a localized WeatherSTEM station to track local weather conditions, like wind direction and fog that interact with the facility's emissions.

Local residents and advocates are asking "what's next"; and, for a long-term plan that keeps the Buckingham Community Park from being the frontline exposed to a Major Source of Stationary Air Pollution.

🏗️ When the Limit Gets in the Way,
Change the Rules?

Six years ago, Lee County planning staff defended a 300,000-square-foot limit on commercial development in Southeast Lee County, saying it would help ensure that commercial development would not "promote the urbanization of this less dense area of the county." Today, the County is proposing to remove that limit.

On August 19, the Lee County Board of County Commissioners voted to move forward with sweeping changes to the Southeast Lee County Community Plan. The County transmitted the amendment, CPA2026-00004, to state reviewing agencies on August 24.

Eleven Development Requests Become One Rewrite

This was not a community-driven effort to rethink the future of Southeast Lee County. The County initiated the rewrite after receiving 11 privately initiated Lee Plan amendments seeking changes for individual properties. Rather than considering those requests separately under the existing rules, the Board directed staff to develop a broader rewrite of the Southeast Lee County plan. The County's transmittal package says the materials from those private applications have been incorporated into the county-initiated amendment.

The County Has Already Exceeded Its Own Limit

At the August 19 hearing, County staff acknowledged that the existing 300,000-square-foot commercial limit "has already been exceeded through the settlement agreements and developments that are already out there." Staff's conclusion? "We needed to strike that."

The transmittal package provides the numbers: 240,000 square feet associated with WildBlue, Verdana Village and Old Corkscrew Golf Club, plus another 800,000 square feet of nonresidential development approved through settlement agreements. Staff now describes the existing limit as a "market constraint" and projects demand for approximately another million square feet of nonresidential space.

That is a striking reversal. In 2020, the limit was intended to prevent urbanization. In 2026, it is a "market constraint." What changed?

Public Input — or Just Public Comment?

The public process deserves scrutiny, too. The Board directed staff to pursue the county-initiated amendment on April 21. A stakeholder roundtable was held in May, and by August 19 the amendment was before commissioners for transmittal.

Before public testimony was complete, Commission Chair Cecil Pendergrass characterized some opposition as coming from lobbying groups, environmental groups and "Democrat groups," referred to "paid activists," and suggested that false information had generated some of the opposition. Yet residents and environmental organizations were raising substantive concerns about water, wetlands, groundwater recharge, development intensity and Florida panther habitat. Those concerns deserved answers, not labels. Being allowed to speak at a hearing is not the same as being meaningfully involved while the policy is being written.

A Parking Lot Is Still a Parking Lot

The proposed plan would also replace the fixed commercial cap with a system relying in part on Floor Area Ratio, or FAR. The County says parking, setbacks, buffers, open space, stormwater management and conservation requirements will constrain how much development can actually occur. But those things are not environmentally equivalent. A parking lot is impervious surface. It does not store and filter water like natural land, recharge groundwater like functioning wetlands, or provide wildlife habitat.

Changing a development formula does not change what pavement does on the ground. That is especially important in Southeast Lee County. The County itself recognizes the area's importance to groundwater and water supply and acknowledges that most of Southeast Lee County is designated as primary or secondary Florida panther habitat. More intensive development does not occur one parcel at a time environmentally. Water flows across property lines, and wildlife corridors work only if they remain connected.

This Isn't Over — Speak Up Now

The August 19 vote was not final approval. Lee County transmitted CPA2026-00004 to state reviewing agencies on August 24, and the amendment must return to the County for another public hearing before final adoption. If what is happening in Southeast Lee County concerns you, now is the time to speak up. The amendment is being reviewed by state agencies, including the Florida Department of Commerce, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and South Florida Water Management District.

Contact the agencies listed below to make your voice heard. But do it soon — the state review is already underway. Lee County once said the 300,000-square-foot commercial limit was needed to prevent the urbanization of Southeast Lee County. Now that development has exceeded that limit, the answer should not simply be to change the rules. Water, wetlands and panther habitat deserve better. And a parking lot is still a parking lot.
 

If you are concerned about the proposed changes to the Southeast Lee County Community Plan, now is the time to make your voice heard. Ask the reviewing agencies to closely examine CPA2026-00004 and its potential impacts on wetlands, groundwater recharge, water quality, Florida panther habitat and wildlife corridors, and the intensity of development allowed in Southeast Lee County.

FloridaCommerce – State Land Planning Agency
ComprehensivePlans@Commerce.fl.gov
The state agency responsible for reviewing the amendment for consistency with Florida's comprehensive planning requirements.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP)
Plan.Review@FloridaDEP.gov
Ask FDEP to carefully review potential impacts to wetlands, groundwater recharge, water quality, water resources and conservation lands.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)
ConservationPlanningServices@MyFWC.com
Ask FWC to closely examine impacts to Florida panther habitat, wildlife corridors, habitat connectivity and other listed species.

South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD)
SFLOCALGOVPLAN@sfwmd.gov
Ask the District to evaluate the amendment's potential effects on groundwater recharge, water supply, wetlands, flooding and regional water resources.

Be sure to identify the amendment as: CPA2026-00004 – Southeast Lee County Community Plan.

You do not need to write a lengthy or technical letter. Tell the agencies what concerns you about the proposal and ask them to thoroughly review those issues before the amendment returns to Lee County for its next hearing.

🗳️ Get Involved

Calusa Elections: Call for Candidates

We need candidates for Calusa Group leadership positions! If you're interested in serving, please contact the Nominating Committee directly by contacting Mary Kay Robbins-Kralapp ASAP. She can be reached at: mkkralapp@gmail.com
 

Share Your Upcoming Events

One of the best ways we can strengthen Southwest Florida's conservation community is by sharing opportunities to get involved. If your organization has an upcoming meeting, volunteer project, cleanup, nature walk, educational program, or other environmental event, please send us the details. We'll consider it for inclusion in the next Sierra Club Calusa Group newsletter and help connect more people with the important work you're doing.