Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve

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A stand of cypress trees in the preserve Cypress buttresses.jpg
A stand of cypress trees in the preserve
File:6mislough.jpg
View from the boardwalk.

The Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve is a 3,500 acre wetland, located in Fort Myers, Florida, which filters rainwater on its way towards Estero Bay. The preserve contains a 1.2-mile boardwalk trail, interpretive center, and amphitheater. [1] [2] The slough is a nine mile long, one-third of a mile wide, wildlife corridor, providing a safe way for animals to travel within the Fort Myers city limits. A 57-square-mile watershed drains into the slough. [2]

Contents

The Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve boardwalk hours are from dawn to dusk year-round. The Interpretive Center hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. [3]

The parking fee is $1 per hour per vehicle, maximum $5 for the day. Lee County Annual Parking Stickers are accepted at this location. [4]

History

The Monday Group, [5] a Fort Myers high school environmental class, went door-to-door, petitioning that Lee County residents raise their own taxes to purchase and protect the slough as a preserve. As a result, the students gathered enough signatures for a referendum to be placed on the ballot in 1976. [6]

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References

  1. "Friends of Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve". Slough Preserve.
  2. 1 2 "Facility". Lee County Southwest Florida.
  3. "Wet walks are back at Six Mile Cypress slough". News=press.com. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  4. "Facility". Lee County Southwest Florida. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  5. "Teens use Monday Group to become powerful conservationists, leaders". The News-Press. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  6. "Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve - South Florida Water Management District". Sfwmd.gov.

Coordinates: 26°34′30″N81°49′19″W / 26.575°N 81.822°W / 26.575; -81.822