Blind Pass,

a Celebration of Life

In the event you haven’t heard all the whooping and shouting; you may well have missed the fact that Blind Pass opened with a big splash in August. Once again we are two separate islands of Sanibel and Captiva. Though the islands are now physically separated by the Pass, the islands philosophies and mutual efforts of environmental cooperation are more together than ever.

This environmental restoration of the Blind Pass habitat is an achievement that could not have happened without the commitment and resources of the Captiva Erosion Prevention District (CEPD), the City of Sanibel, Lee County’s Natural Resources Marine Division, the Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau and the State’s DEP. The project’s cost of approx 3-3.5MM is funded 35% by CEPD, 35% Lee County VCB and 30% Fl.DEP. In addition, Sanibel contributed in several important ways, including the installation of the culvert under Sanibel Captiva Road and the great support for the project by the City of Sanibel.

For those of us who worked closely with the late CEPD administrator Alison Hagerup, this accomplishment is a victory in many ways, but a bitter sweet victory.  Blind Pass re-opened short of a year after we celebrated Alison’s life at the Captiva north Beach Park named in her honor just prior to her death. Now we are again celebrating her life as well as the vibrant life of our Blind Pass. The opening is one Alison would have cherished. Certainly, this restoration is an event celebrated daily as a great amenity to Captiva, Sanibel and all of Lee County 

Blind Pass has again become a daily magnet attracting thousands. Eagerly flocking to this teaming life source are thousands of marine and avian creatures, as well as hundreds of delighted human visitors arriving daily by boat, foot, car and air to enjoy the beauty and vibrancy of this environmentally restored habitat. Do you know the extensive effort that went into this project? The project took almost a decade with the efforts of Sanibel, Lee County, CEPD, Fl. DEP with community support from Bayous Preservation Association and Ding Darling NWR.

A celebration program is scheduled January 15, 2010, 11:00am at Blind Pass. P.S. Let’s keep fingers crossed that it stays open.

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