Thanks to a $75,000 grant from the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation, a project to build a fishing pier and boardwalk at Oscar Scherer State Park that has been in the works for almost 15 years can now start. The grant was made through the Florida State Parks Foundation and allows the first phase of the pier to start.

Oscar Scherer State Park is located just north of Venice. The Lake Osprey Fishing Pier, apart from being an added attraction for park visitors, will also be used for school visits to teach children how to fish, as well as about the value of the park's habitats that enable a thriving, healthy environment for the fish, birds and hundreds of other species to live. The Selby Foundation funding completes the amount needed for Phase 1 of the project, which is the construction of one leg of the fishing pier out into the three-acre freshwater Lake Osprey and the central platform.  Phase 2 will be the construction of the roof over the central platform, and Phase 3 will be the construction of the second leg of the pier. The nonprofit volunteer group Friends of Oscar Scherer State Park has been fundraising for the project for 15 years, and is contributing $200,000 towards the cost.