Okeechobee to Lake Hicpochee and through the lakes and wetlands to the west. His company removed the rock ledge that formed the falls and rapids below Lake Flirt, and straightened the upper reaches of the Caloosahatchee River. Various state and federal projects have widened and deepened the river since then. The conversion of the Caloosahatchee River into a canal drained Lake Flirt and the wetlands descending from Lake Hicpochee. Since the late 19th century, dredging and channelization of the river, as well as the artificial connection to Lake Okeechobee and its use as a water supply for urban and agricultural uses, have substantially altered the hydrology of the river. As a result, both the magnitude and timing of water delivery to the estuary have been substantially altered. Recent programs by the state government have attempted to establish minimum flow levels in the river, in part to help restore the water supply to the Everglades. A federal wildlife refuge for manatees has been established at the mouth of the river on San Carlos Bay near Fort Myers. Crossings The following is a list of bridge crossings of the Caloosahatchee River and Canal Gallery See also South Atlantic-Gulf Water Resource Region References External links South Florida Water Management District: Caloosahatchee River and Estuary GulfBase.org: Caloosahatchee River USFWS: Caloosahatchee River-San Carlos Bay Federal Manatee Refuge Caloosahatchee River Citizens Association (Riverwatch) Caloosahatchee River Watershed - Florida DEP Rivers of Florida Intracoastal Waterway Drainage basins of the Gulf of Mexico Bodies of water of Hendry County, Florida Bodies of water of Glades County, Florida Rivers of Lee County, Florida Canals in Florida Lake Okeechobee Fort Myers, Florida List of place names of Choctaw origin in the United States