Coral Pointe Canal restoration finally underway, neighbors hopeful

Restoration for the Coral Pointe Canal is underway after hundreds of mangroves were removed last summer.

Neighbors say they are excited to get their view back.

“It gives me hope,” said Joseph Cruz, who loves the lush landscape in his Cape Coral Yard. He used to love the view just across his canal of the Four Mile Cove Preserve.

“This area was spectacular. It consisted of mangroves and other vegetation that were 30, 40 years old,” he said.

That is until the city cut back and removed 6,400 square-feet of mangroves and dredged more than 2,000 square-feet of wetlands without permission from the Department of Environmental Protection.

Last July we received several complaints from neighbors. Now, after entering an agreement with DEP, the city will begin the task of restoring the area.

“We’re anxious to see them get started. Of course, we’ll be watching to see how they go about doing this,” Cruz said.

The restoration includes removing invasive Australian pines, reshaping the banks, hydroseeding and planting mangroves.

“Hopefully they don’t cause further destruction or damage and the job gets done to the satisfaction of everyone,” Cruz said.

While the city works to restore the land, Cruz looks forward to getting his view back.

“And our hope is that with the restoration and a little bit of time, of course, because it’s going to take time for mother nature to restore itself, we’ll get that all back,” he said.

The work along the Coral Pointe Canal is expected to be completed in the next four months.