Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve

Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve is located in Southwest Florida, between Fort Myers Beach and Bonita Springs, along the Gulf of Mexico. Estero Bay was designated as Florida's first aquatic preserve in 1966. Aquatic preserve staff work to preserve the bay in its essentially natural condition, so that the aesthetic, biological and scientific values endure for the enjoyment of future generations.
Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve, the boundaries of which are generally: All of those sovereignty submerged lands located bayward of the mean high-water line being in Sections 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 35, and 36, Township 46 South, Range 24 East; and in Sections 19, 20, 28, 29, and 34, Township 46 South, Range 24 East, lying north and east of Matanzas Pass Channel; and in Sections 19, 30, and 31, Township 46 South, Range 25 East; and in Sections 6, 7, 17, 18, 19, 20, 29, 30, 31, and 32, Township 47 South, Range 25 East; and in Sections 1, 2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 14, 24, and 25, Township 47 South, Range 24 East, in Lee County, Florida. Any and all submerged lands conveyed by the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund prior to October 12, 1966, and any and all uplands now in private ownership are specifically exempted from this preserve 258.39(28)F.S.