Today's photo feature showcases Florida's glowing sun as it rises over the Caloosahatchee River. All looks peaceful on the surface, but a report lists the Caloosahatchee as one of America's most endangered rivers. Problems begin on the northern edge of Florida's Everglades, where thousands of farmland acreage create pollutant laden runoff that drains into Lake Okeechobee. In order to ease the lake's high water levels, the SFWMD have released up to 70,000 gallons of lake water per second into the Caloosahatchee. Suspended fertilizers and organic sediments deplete the river's dissolved oxygen, choking fish, and producing algal blooms and fish-killing toxins.
     The river no longer resembles its natural state as it's been dredged, lined with urban sprawl and flooded with phosphates. Nevertheless, the Caloosahatchee, shown here near Fort Myers, remains one of Lee County's top tarpons holes. Boaters are surprised to see hundreds of tarpon rolling up on top of the water. Manatee buffer zones have slowed boat traffic and seem to have calmed the tarpon population as well.