Here's an update on Tract K from the Marco Island Eagle Sanctuary Foundation:

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Some of you may have heard by now, that Collier County School Superintendent, Dr. Thompson, has denied the Marco Island Academy's request to allocate or lease Tract K to the Marco Island Academy for their permanent high school location, siting the environmental impact as one of the issues.

Although this is indeed good news, we still need to remain vigilant in our efforts to preserve Tract K. I suspect we there will be more requests or possible appeals regarding land use for this land. Those of you who have written letters to the CCSB regarding this issue, thank you! Your input to the CCSB IS important. ...

Sign "Petitions of Support" - We will be at the Farmer's Market on Wednesday. Stop by and say hello, sign a petition, take a few copies for others to sign. These petitions will be submitted to the City Council on Dec 6th as our show of support.

Volunteers - We need volunteers to work a couple of hours with us at the Farmer's Market, to get petitions signed, and obtain contributions for the Foundation. We are a non-profit organization and all contributions are tax deductible.

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Their website should be up soon:

marcoeaglesanctuaryfoundation.com

It would be great if some folks from our group could volunteer to help at the Farmers' Market Wednesday ... At the very least, stop by, sign the petition, and introduce yourself as a part of Eco-Marco. Thanks!

The Gopher Tortoises of Marco Island, Part 1

You can see more at our youtube channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/ecomarcoisland

November 10 update

Of interest to eco-minded folks on Marco Island - Tract K (on Tigertail Court) is the largest parcel of undeveloped land left on the island. It belongs to the Collier County school board, but for several years has been home to a nesting pair of bald eagles. Because eagles are a protected species, the land is temporarily barred from "development." A group of fellow citizens has shown some interest in securing the land for a charter high school (Marco Island Academy) in the future, but another group of citizens has begun work to secure the land long-term as a park and ecological preserve, for eagles and other species.

Eco Marco members Brian McLaren and Julie Ross were able to attend a meeting of the Marco Eagle Sanctuary Foundation (MESF) last night. The organizers of MESF have asked for three kinds of support.

First (sorry for the short notice), there is a Collier County School Board meeting, today, Wed. Nov 10th, 3 PM at the MLK Administrative Bldg, 5775 Osceola Trail (located the Barron Collier High School.) The board will vote on the Marco Island Academy's charter school application. The board will almost certainly approve the charter, but MESF would like to be sure that some citizens show up to express our concerns that the charter school, if it is developed, not in any way involve Tract K. If you're available today, here's information on how to get involved.

Directions:

Aiport Pulling Rd to Pine Ridge,

Right on Pine Ridge Road

Left on Osceola Trail (next light)

Drive to the back of the property.

Go thru front doors, School Board Room on your right.

When you arrive, make sure you fill out a card to ask permission to speak. The maximum time limit is three minutes (but you can simply make a one-or-two-sentence statement too). You can simply say that you are a citizen concerned that Tract K not be developed for a school (or any other purpose), but rather be preserved for eagles and other native species. MESF would like those who attend to wear orange as a sign of solidarity.

Second, the MESF encourages ecologically-minded citizens to participate in the City Council meeting on December 6. More details will come soon on this, but if possible please save the date. Finally, MESF needs financial support to proceed with protection of Tract K. More information on this will be forthcoming as well.

With so little undeveloped land remaining on Marco Island, it makes sense for Eco Marco to work closely with MESF on behalf of eagles and native species in general. Stay tuned for more details.