Protect Ozello Waters

Protect Ozello Waters Corp. is a non-profit environmental conservation group dedicated to protecting and preserving the still-pristine Nature Coast, along the western edge of Citrus County, Florida. Coastal areas not far to the south of Citrus County have been degraded in recent decades, mostly due to excessive nutrient input into coastal estuaries, other forms of pollution, and unwise development. We are facing a serious threat to the health of the entire Coastal marsh ecosystem.

This area is one of the last relatively pristine coastal salt marsh areas left along all of Florida’s Gulf Coast. Wildlife and fish are abundant in this area, including federally-threatened manatees, bottlenose dolphins, sea turtles, many species of wading birds, hundreds of fish species, blue crabs, oysters, and much more.

Currently, we are battling against an unwise development that is planned for the Fish Creek area, in the community of Ozello. A developer has purchased a 16-acre parcel of land that is directly adjacent to the St. Martins Marsh Aquatic Preserve on two sides, and is proposing to construct an extensive luxury RV Park Resort there. The parcel contains wetlands, and a significant length of mangrove shoreline. The developer is also proposing to construct a very large, untested septic system, which is likely to fail during flood events (which occur often there), releasing raw sewage into the Fish Creek Estuary, and St. Martins River. Click the photo below to see the area for this proposed resort:

Our battle against this developer is a David vs. Goliath effort, since he/they are very well funded, and we have very limited financial resources (but lots of talented volunteers willing to fight hard!). The developer has retained a well-known attorney who has spent his career getting similar developments approved by the County. Recently, we have had to retain legal help as well, but we cannot afford that help for very long, without financial assistance. We have also hired an environmental consultant to advise us in our battle, and the bills for that assistance are starting to mount, also.

If you love this beautiful coastal saltwater marsh as much as we do, please consider contributing whatever you can to help us continue this battle. Any amount would be greatly appreciated, even $5 or $10. We would also appreciate it if you could share our GoFundMe page with friends and neighbors who also love this area, and might not otherwise be aware of our fight.

Please visit our Facebook page at Protect Ozello Waters or email us for more information or to ask how you can help! All questions will be answered promptly.

Thank you so much for helping us save this critically important part of the Florida Gulf Coast.

100% of your donations will go to Protect Ozello Waters, and we've applied for a 501 C3 status, to help fight these threats to our environment.