Reef builders

The first barges loaded with construction materials steamed out to the Gulf of Mexico from Marco Island on Jan. 9, the building blocks for the creation of the largest artificial reef system in the western hemisphere.

It's a huge undertaking: The barges will spend the next six months dropping tons of concrete beams, pipes and other construction debris on the sandy bottoms of 36 locations off Collier County, each measuring the size of a football field.

What's more, no taxpayer money is being spent on the $3 million project. “There's never been a public-private partnership of this magnitude,” says Diane Flagg, co-chair of the Economic Recovery Task Force with attorney Peter Flood.