The Friends of the Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserves (FCHAP) is a Citizen Support Organization for the Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserves and the Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park.

About the Friends

The Friends of the Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserves, Inc., (FCHAP) is a nonprofit Citizen Support Organization that assists the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in the management of Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserves :
·         Lemon Bay Aquatic Preserve
·         Cape Haze Aquatic Preserve
·         Gasparilla Sound - Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserve
·         Matlacha Pass Aquatic Preserve
·         Pine Island Sound Aquatic Preserve
·         Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park

FCHAP is comprised of a Board of Directors, citizen members, and volunteers who are committed to protecting Charlotte Harbor and the adjacent public lands.

The Friends are always seeking new general members and board members. The FCHAP Board holds 6 to 8 meetings per year and does not normally meet during the months of June, July, November, or December. The FCHAP annual meeting is held in February, when new board members and officers are chosen.

March is Seagrass Awareness Month!


Friends of the Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserves 2012 Annual Meeting & Open House

We are pleased to announce the annual membership meeting of The Friends of the Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserves (FCHAP) on March 31, 2012. FCHAP is a non-profit Citizen Support Organization for the Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserves and the Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park.

FCHAP is comprised of a Board of Directors, citizen members, and volunteers who are committed to protecting Charlotte Harbor and the adjacent public lands. Members and the public are invited to attend the following events offered at no charge:

7:00 AM – FREE guided hike on the Old Datsun Trail with Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park Biologists.

8:30 AM – FREE Breakfast with the Board. Come and meet the FCHAP Board of Directors with the Aquatic Preserves manager and State Park manager.

9:30 AM – New Aquatic Preserve water quality laboratory facility dedication.

10:30 AM - FREE Guest lecture by Archaeologist Michele Loger who will be speaking about the Cape Haze Mounds Project.

In this talk, Archaeologist Loger will present the methods and some preliminary findings of research conducted from2007 to 2011 in the Cape Haze Unit of the Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park. During these projects, archaeologists working for the Florida Park Service, and supported by grants from the Florida Division of Historical Resources and the Friends of the Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserves, worked in the Cape Haze Region with a goal of gaining a better understanding of the cultural heritage of the preserve and Southwest Florida. Loger will discuss what archaeological survey entails, including mapping, profiling and sampling, what is hoped to be discovered in the analysis and what comes next in broadening our knowledge of the past people who inhabited sites in the Charlotte Harbor area.

Michele Loger was an archaeologist for Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park, working with George Luer, for three years, and now works in the private sector. Before moving to Florida, Loger spent a dozen years as a shovel bum in the northeast, and participated ina number of field schools and an internship in the southwest. Despite the mosquitoes and the heat, the Gulf Coast has quickly become Michele's favorite research focus and she intends on remaining in southwest Florida and investigating its archaeology long into the future.

All of the above listed events will be taking place at the Charlotte Harbor Preserves Headquarters, 12301 Burnt Store Road, Punta Gorda, FL, 33955

Due to limited space and resources reservations are required.

Please call 941-575-5861 Monday – Friday between 8 AM and 5 PM or e-mail us at info@fchap.org.