Activists say burrowing owls in danger during canal clean up in Cape Coral

Burrowing owls have called Cape Coral home for years, but wildlife activists are worried they are being displaced.

The city has hired clean-up crews to address the canals following Ian, but activists are worried they are taking too much vegetation.

“Just like we want to live on the canals near the water. That’s where the wildlife wants to live too,” said Chery Anderson, on the board of Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife.

“These people are paid by the cubic yard that they remove. So they are incentivized to take everything because that’s how they’re getting paid,” she said.

The Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife wants the city to put a stop to what the organizations alls the destruction of healthy vegetation.

They brought their concerns to Cape Coral’s leaders during a recent meeting.

“We’re going through the 311 process to have environmental our environmental division go out and verify that it is truly a gopher tortoise or burrowing owl or some other species,” said Terry Schweitzer, solid waste manager for Cape Coral.

But even with these investigations, interim City Manager Michael Ilcyszyn admitted the city doesn’t have the staffing to mark every unmarked burrow.

Friends of Wildlife member Lori Haus-Bullock said despite that, she and other members would not give up.

“We’re looking for training, and we’re looking for everything to cease or slow down so that this can be addressed,” she said.