Cape City Council considering grant to protect burrowing owls

A first-of-its-kind protection on the line for a city icon. Burrowing owls aren’t just part of Cape Coral’s habitat; they are part of the city’s culture.

The city council is considering the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission‘s owl habitat protection grant. The grant will purchase $900,000 of land specifically for the owls to live.

With our area expanding, keeping nature alive is vital.

“Once you destroy a burrow, the owls are homeless; they have no place to go, and sometimes they’ll sit around for days looking at what where’s my home,” said Judy Mitchell, President of Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife.

The city will use the grant money to purchase land in Cape Coral for the burrowing owls.

“It’s gonna help with additional habitat because we’ll be able to do starter burrows on the land. If there are already burrows there, and it seems to be a good area for a starter burrow, we can do starter burrows, which is a new habitat for the burrowing owls,” Mitchell said.

One of the requirements from FWC is that there is a burrowing owl either on the lot they purchase or nearby it, but you can help, too.

“We also really, really encourage our citizens in Cape Coral to put a starter burrow in their residential lots so that they will be able to attract the burrowing owl and provide a home for them,” Mitchell said.

If you do, they will keep the mice and bugs out of your yard.

While these burrowing owls are threatened here in Florida, Cape Coral is home to almost 4,000 of them.

The council is expected to vote on the grant on Wednesday.