South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) Governing Board Vice-Chair, Shannon Estenoz, will visit Sanibel on February 17, to participate in the Annual Conservation Lecture at BIG ARTS sponsored by the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) and Everglades Foundation.

Participants will focus on Everglades restoration and the advantages of the U.S. Sugar Corp. land acquisition to Southwest Florida.

This year’s timely presentation, “U.S. Sugar, Local Aquatic Preserves and the Everglades: How Getting the Water Right in the Everglades Agricultural Area Helps Our Estuary,” will also feature Thomas Van Lent, senior scientist, Everglades Foundation, a leading authority on water resource issues and Rae Ann Wessel, natural resource policy director, SCCF, who has brought the voice of the west coast and concern for its estuaries to lawmakers.

Estenoz was instrumental in the vote to support the U.S. Sugar Corp. land purchase.

Van Lent will discuss restoration alternatives involving the land purchase, including the science of cleaning and storing water in the EAA (Everglades Agricultural Area) and the positive benefits for Southwest Florida’s estuaries resulting from the acquisition of 180,000 acres south of Lake Okeechobee.

The presentation will be followed by an interactive public participation panel discussion and question-and-answer session.

Following the presentation, attendees are invited to a wine-and-cheese reception on the Gainer Veranda, sponsored by BIG ARTS.

The SCCF and the Everglades Foundation invites all interested parties to take advantage of this opportunity to access these decision-makers, ask questions about the Everglades restoration initiative and find out how you can help make this historic opportunity a reality.

The program will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. at Big Arts’ Schein Hall. Tickets are $20 per person. Big Arts is located at 900 Dunlop Road, Sanibel.

Tickets are available at Big Arts or by phone at (239) 395-0900; for more information on the program, call SCCF at (239) 472-2329.