FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — If you been on or around Fort Myers Beach, you might have run into Ranger Rob Howell, the naturalist at the Pink Shell Resort.
Fox 4 Meteorologist Andrew Shipley went out to the Pink Shell on Fort Myers Beach meet up with Ranger Rob Howell, a man who loves nature. He wanted to see nature through Rob’s eyes.
“I have made it my life’s mission to connect people with wildlife in wild places,” said Howell.
So, Howell and Shipley hit the water to see nature behind one of Southwest Florida's most popular beaches. They made their way down several canals off Estero Bay in search of our local gentle giants, our manatees.
“They come back here. Not a lot of fast boats, not a lot of activity. It’s quiet and it’s safe,” said Howell.
And before too long they found what they were looking for. While keeping our distance they watched a manatee surface, unfortunately they noticed a few scares on its back.
“One of the ways we even tell them apart when we are studying them,” said Howell. “But not understanding the rules on the road on the water. Not only understanding how to handle the water around these animals, but it can also be a detriment to their well-being.”
And it’s not just boat traffic impacting the manatees but also the loss of sea grass.
“It’s number one killer of the manatee right now,” said Howell. “They just can’t find it. There is just nothing out there. And if they replant it, it either dies of lack of sunlight or the manatees eat it right away.”
That lack of sunlight reaching through our murky waters is only worsening the trend of poor water quality we have been seeing in Southwest Florida.
Howell believes the manatee should be preverbal mascot for saving our waterways.
“That is our home-grown animal, and we are losing them,” said Howell. “So, we worry about our water quality, but we have this animal right here that is directly affected by it. The water goes down the manatees are going to leave; the water goes up the manatees are going to start coming back.”
Shipley asked Howell, what would it mean if we lost our manatees. He said to think about it as Jenga tower.
“Each of those pieces is an animal or a plant. When you take one out, it doesn’t necessarily ruin the whole thing but makes it less structurally sound,” said Howell.
But when you start pulling multiple pieces, it’s not just the manatee impacted, but sawfish, turtles, and other capstone species as well.
“We are going down a path that is going to make it very uncomfortable to be on the planet,” said Howell. “Little changes that affect the lives of things we are sharing the planet with; are important.”
And given the importance of these issues, Howell educates beachgoers on the world around them.
“Once you learn about something, you become passionate about it. When you become passionate, you will make those life changes,” said Howell.
You can find Ranger Rob Howell almost daily at the Pink Shell Ranger Outpost on Fort Myers Beach.
