Where Salt and Freshwater Meet

Throughout the month of September 2021, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (RBNEER) celebrated National Estuarine Month and on Saturday, September 25, 2021, activities for all ages were offered at the Learning Center. Naturalist-led boat tours were busy all day showcasing the wonders of the estuary to the public.

The Reserve is managed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in partnership with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, Florida International University, and the National Estuarine Research Reserve Association. They are responsible for managing wildlife and habitat within its 110,000 acres boundary which stretches from downtown Naples east through the western edge of the Everglades ecosystem, encompassing 40 percent of Collier County’s coastline.

As the salt and freshwater meet and mix, incredible things happen at the estuary. Mangroves thrive at the estuaries. As their leaves fall off and decompose, they provide nutrients for the estuary food web; their roots are nursery for fish, sponge and shellfish and it is a biodiversity hotspot for a vast array of wading and coastal birds.

The mangroves complex root system also filters pollutants from the water, improving water quality flowing from the rivers and streams into the estuary and the ocean. The mangrove forest also takes excess carbon from the atmosphere and stores them in the underwater soil.

Florida has approximately 1,042.5 square miles of mangrove forest that provide a natural barrier in protecting coastal communities from increased storm surges, flooding and hurricanes. According to a study by the “Valuing the Flood Risk Reduction Benefits of Florida’s Mangroves,” Florida mangroves prevented $1.5 billion in direct flood damages and protected over half a million people during Hurricane Irma in 2017, amounting to a 25% savings in counties that have mangroves and protected more than 626,000 people across Florida.

The Reserve is located in Collier County, the fastest growing county in Florida. There is an upward trend in residential and commercial development both putting pressure on the balance of fresh water from the land flowing into the estuary and combining with water from the Gulf of Mexico.

Maintaining a delicate balance between the needs of people and the health of the Reserve’s ecosystem is an ongoing challenge for the staff, volunteers, and outside partners of the Reserve.

According to Keith Laakkonen, Director of the Reserve “their resiliency is our resiliency! 

A clean watershed is the lifeblood of the estuary which is home to many species; beautiful undisturbed mangrove beaches where sea turtles come to nest every year; dolphins are born and raised in our estuaries; manatees feed in the shallows; red fish, snook and snappers thrive under the mangroves.

Behind the scenes at the Reserve:

Research Sector – they run a series of research and monitoring programs such as counting the nesting sea turtle nests during hatching season and tagging sharks.

The Reserve, in collaboration with Audubon Florida monitors nesting birds to protect, study and understand some of Florida’s threatened species.

Water quality is an indicator of the overall health of the Reserve and samples are taken every 15 minutes. Scientists can compare what is happening at the estuary now, in the past and during major storms.

The Reserve is a living laboratory and through collaborative relationships with outside partners, they get access to great environmental research.

The Education Sector shares the Research Sector’s findings with the public and translates it to something the public can appreciate and understand, such as the naturalist guided boat tours, lecture series and programs for the Collier County School System.

The Coastal Training Program provides science-based information and training tools to professional decision makers.

Greenscape Training educates landscapers on Florida Friendly Landscaping practices and also when is the right time of year to fertilize.

The Friends of Rookery Bay provide vital monetary and in-kind support for the Reserve programs and operations as advocates for preservation and coastal protection.

The Stewardship Program translates science to management to protect habitat and sustain biodiversity such as prescribed fire and restoration.

It takes a village to keep an estuary healthy for the next 50 years!