In 2010, District staff received Governing Board direction and funding to implement research and studies on the Caloosahatchee River to re-evaluate the existing Caloosahatchee River Minimum Flow and Minimum Water Level (MFL). The current MFL criteria, adopted in 2001, is based on the salinity tolerance of a single species-tape grass (Vallisneria americana). Eleven new scientific studies on the Caloosahatchee River, utilizing a resource-based approach with multiple ecological indicators, were conducted. In 2016, the 11 studies were presented for review and technical input at a 2-day Public Science Symposium in Ft. Myers. Since then, additional scientific analyses and modeling were conducted to develop revised MFL criteria and this work was documented in a draft MFL Technical Document. In 2017, a 5-member panel of independent scientific experts reviewed the draft MFL Technical Document, visited the Caloosahatchee River, and held a public panel session. In 2018, two rule development workshops were held in Ft Myers. The District received a very positive peer review of the MFL technical document and the scientific approaches/methodologies used to revise the MFL criteria.