The Keep Lee County Beautiful Marine Cleanup (a.k.a. Monofilament Madness) is an annual event during which vol-unteers go out in boats, kayaks, canoes, and jet skis, to re-move monofilament fishing line and other harmful debris from the mangrove areas of Lee County. The boaters begin working at safe light (dawn) and continue until around noon at which time they are treated to a Volunteer Appreciation Barbecue by Sam Galloway Ford. Because of the focus on fishing line, the project committee has affectionately dubbed the cleanup “Monofilament Madness.” It is hoped that through educational awareness, the people who are causing the problem will be reached and their behavior modified so that, among other reasons, wildlife will be spared agonizing deaths from entanglement in monofilament fishing line.

Come out and support Estero Bay Buddies (EBB) and Keep Lee County Beautiful (KLCB) for the International Coastal Clean Up. This event is the only one during the year where data cards are used to record the type and estimated weight of marine debris collected. This information is sent to the Ocean Conservancy where the information is used in the development of new environ-mental protection acts that hopefully change behaviors that cause marine debris. There will be different staging areas where data cards, gloves and bags will be handed out.
Please call Trish of KLCB at 239-334- 3488 or Terry Cain of EBB at 239-707-3015 or visit www.klcb.org for more information.