The effects of the 2024 hurricane season have been all too apparent to Anna Maria Island residents since the passing of Hurricanes Helene and Milton in a two-week period in late September and early October.
The devastation broke the record for the shortest amount of time between two major hurricanes in Florida. Collapsed buildings, mountains of sand and huge piles of debris lining local neighborhoods and coastal highways have served as constant reminders. Since then, local municipalities, along with FEMA, deployed over 1,000 incident management personnel, while other federal and state agencies deployed 1,200 additional search and rescue personnel. This herculean effort by relief workers has been impressive as the piles of debris have largely been removed.
Unfortunately, those storm surges and winds pushed massive amounts of detritus into local waters, littering grass flats and choking local mangrove forests with the shattered remnants of island life. Now local environmental non-profits and concerned citizens, watermen and sportsmen are banding together to clean up area waters. On Saturday, Dec. 14 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., you can join Suncoast Waterkeeper, Suncoast Aqua Ventures, the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, the Organized Fishermen of Florida and Sarasota Bay Watch in a crucial cleanup of marine debris in our waterways and mangroves.
TERRA CEIA BAY AND MANATEE RIVER
The cleanup will focus on the waters of the Manatee River out of Blenker Boatworks and Marina at the mouth of the Manatee River in Bradenton and Terra Ceia Bay at Tropic Isles Marina on Terra Ceia Bay in Palmetto. Organizers are calling for help from kayakers, shallow draft boat owners and shoreline helpers. The cleanup will focus on mangroves, so volunteers are encouraged to wear protective clothing, eyewear and shoes. Lunch, gloves and other collection supplies will be provided to participants, who are being asked to bring a reusable water bottle. Exact meet up locations will be provided to participants via email after registration. Sign up to participate at https://bit.ly/dec_14_cleanup.
As I’ve reported through the years, our local waters have been increasingly stressed by loss of habitat, sewage releases, storm water runoff and what I’ve described as “death by a thousand cuts.” While we often hear how fragile our marine resources are, the fact is they are extremely resilient, to a point! To recover from these insults and the natural disasters that are becoming more common, we must understand these critical issues and their importance to our health and the economy and work to protect them. Lending a helping hand and supporting these organizations in the field and through the legislative process has never been more important.
