Conservancy files federal lawsuit to preserve Cocohatchee Slough

The Conservancy of Southwest Florida has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seeking to halt development of the Parklands Collier residential golf community in the Cocohatchee Slough.

The complaint contends that the Corps violated the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act and other federal laws when it issued a permit for the development. It also contends that Fish and Wildlife issued an incomplete and inaccurate biological opinion when it concluded that the development of the Parklands would not jeopardize the continued existence of the endangered wood stork and Florida panther.

The Conservancy seeks to invalidate the permit for the project. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Fort Myers.

"The permit for this project never should have been issued," said Jennifer Hecker, Conservancy natural resources policy manager. "The Conservancy of Southwest Florida is petitioning that the permit be invalidated in order for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to further evaluate the devastating effects of this development on the natural environment, as well as on the endangered Florida panther and wood stork, before any development begins."

The Cocohatchee Slough, located in Collier County, stores and filters water needed to sustain life in the Western Everglades. Located near the National Audubon's Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, which is the largest wood stork nesting area in the United States, the slough also provides essential foraging habitat for the endangered wood stork and other wildlife. The Cocohatchee Slough and surrounding uplands also are part of critical habitat for the endangered Florida panther. The Parklands Collier project, proposes to destroy 208 acres of wetlands in the Cocohatchee Slough for the construction of a luxury residential golf course community.

The 642-acre Parklands Collier is one of four developments planned for construction in the Cocohatchee Slough and recently permitted by the Corps. Other projects include Saturnia Falls, Mirasol and Cypress Run. In combination, these developments would dredge and fill almost 1,200 acres of wetlands within the slough.