• Overview
• Introduction
• Legal History
• Administrative Process
• Science Process
• Management Methods
• GIS Decision Model
• Concepts
• How It Works
• Spatial Data
• Environment
• Manatee
• Boating
• Infrastructure
• Management
• Example Study (Lee Cnty)
• Area Data
• Interactive Model
• Model Results
• Resources
• Federal Laws
• Florida State Laws
• County & Municipal Laws
• Contact
• Project Partners / Contacts

EXAMPLE STUDY (LEE COUNTY)

Area Data

< NOTE: THIS IS TO BE CHANGED TO LEE COUNTY >

The Greater Charlotte Harbor Region was selected as a case study for the MPDESS application (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Greater Charlotte Harbor Study Region.

Charlotte Harbor is one of the largest open water estuaries in Florida and one of the states most popular boating regions. The Greater Charlotte Harbor study region extends approximately 70 miles from Englewood (Lemon Bay) in the north to Bonita Springs (Estero Bay) in the south, in Charlotte, and Lee counties. An estimated 61,540 pleasure boats are currently registered in the study region according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, Vessel Title Registration System 2005 ‘data sales’ database. Recreational boaters are attracted to this region by its many barrier islands and protected waters that provide excellent opportunities for small-craft fishing, nature viewing, and picnicking/socializing along barrier island beaches and exposed sand spits (Figure 2). The study region comprises roughly 1,450 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico, and interior bay waters that include Lemon Bay, the Manatee and Peace rivers, Greater Charlotte Harbor, Pine Island Sound, San Carlos Bay, the Caloosahatchee River, and Estero Bay.

Greater Charlotte Harbor was selected as a test case for the MPDESS for a number of reasons: First, Florida Sea Grant (FSG) and the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWC FWRI) completed a recreational boating study that can be used to characterize the preferences, activities and seasonal use patterns of Greater Charlotte Harbor boater populations. Second, 12 months of aerial flights have been conducted that identify observed boating patterns over the course of a year. This information will be compared with information reported by boaters to provide a more comprehensive evaluating of seasonal spatial boating patterns.

Figure 2.  The Charlotte Harbor Boating Region.