Calusa Waterkeeper issues area’s water bacteria report for June

This month out of the 30 sites throughout the watershed tested by the Calusa Waterkeeper, 23% passed and 77% failed

One of the newest sites continues to unveil high FIB numbers -- North Fort Myers Riverbend Boulevard399 MPN

The new bracketing of Manuel’s Branch continues to fascinate, and the results will be discussed in a upcoming meeting Manuel’s branch highest FIB count2,909 MPN

The new Mullock Creek site had an increase count t h i s m o n t h M u l l o c k C r e e k a t S a n C a r l o s P a r k ,

Constitution - 771 MPN

Pine Island region has Matlacha as the highest FIB count for that tidal zone this month Matlacha Pass County Park kayak launch - 160 MPN

The Calusa Waterkeeper thanks Mike Lee for being the group's Lab extraordinaire! Also, big thanks to Ken, Neil, Don, Chuck, Anthony, Sam, Christy, John, Greg and Larry for grabbing samples

Y o u c a n v i e w t h e i n t e r a c t i v e G o o g l e m a p at https://calusawaterkeeper org/issues/bacteria-monitoring/

Mangoes

From page 1 down, they sterilize all the weed seeds in their digestive system and they just leave the native grasses, making them the perfect maintenance ” he said “Since they sterilize all the weed seeds in their digestive system, their poop is like rabbit pellets it’s a slow release nitrogen it’s perfect for a grove We figure in a couple of years, the trees will really appreciate that ”

Hurricane Ian, he said, was a good pruning, as at least half of every tree in the grove ended up on the ground While they are still working to maintain the damage done by the storm, they have cleared the grove, and look forward to a thriving fruit stand in the future Last summer, the only wholesale customer for Promised Land Mangoes was Farmer Joe's in Cape Coral

Etscovitz said his goal is to be a local corner store, so islanders don’t have to leave the island, but can come in and get some fresh food, have a snack and pet the goats

“When we bought the place we knew mangoes could crash for any number of reasons, and right after our very first year, Hurricane Ian ate everything off the trees so we never even got a bloom, but we have a setup for next year so it should be a bumper crop,” Etscovitz said

For Promise Land Mangoes, recovery from Ian looked like a pile of debris that ended up on the side of the road, Etscovitz said, although there wasn’t much damage done to anything else, such as the building or animals

“The goats turned out to be a lot of fun We have friendly ones out to be social with people we’ve got some ducks and tortoise We’ve got bourbon red turkeys and a donkey They’re our pets it’s not a petting zoo but we have goat treats, so folks can come on out and pet the goats and grab a snack,” Etscovitz said Promised Land Mangoes is at 7127 Pineland Road, Bokeelia For additional information, please call 941404-1503