Guided Naturalist Walks Offered at Pine Island Flatwoods Preserve
February 17, 2012

Guided Walks at Pine Island Flatwoods Preserve are being offered on the 4th Saturdays of the month during the winter season (December - April).

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Restoration at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve
February 17, 2012

The portions of the Conservation 20/20 properties on Morgan Hill Road, a finger of the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, are being restored through mechanical removal. This work is being done at no cost to the County. The harvested melaleuca timber is being used as a biofuel for a power plant. The County gets rid of this pesky exotic and restores native habitats. We hope to be complete with this work by the end of March. If you have any questions please call Bob Repenning at 533-7554.

To learn more about invasive exotic plants, click on the More Information link.

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CONSERVATION 20/20 PROGRAM ADDS LAND TO CREW IN BONITA SPRINGS
February 17, 2012

The Lee County Conservation 20/20 Program purchased 9 acres on E. Terry Street, approximately 1/3 mile east of Bonita Grande Drive, in Bonita Springs on Friday, February 17th.
The acquisition of this property adds to the protection of the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (CREW). The CREW is a vast 60,000 acre area of interconnected swamps that spans Lee and Collier Counties. Its preservation is essential if such wildlife as the Florida panther and black bear are to survive. It also provides aquifer recharge, natural flood protection and water purification. About 15,500 acres of CREW lie in Lee County; an area locals call the Flint Pen Strand after the Flint family who ran cattle there.
In 1989, the CREW Land & Water Trust was established as a nonprofit organization to coordinate the land acquisition, land management, and public use of the CREW. That same year, the Lee County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) dedicated 0.2 mil for 3 years ($9 million) to acquire land from willing sellers in the Flint Pen Strand. The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) provided matching acquisition funds and has taken the lead as land manager. Twenty years later, and with various other state and local funding programs, the vast majority (13,330 acres) of the Flint Pen area has been acquired.

Most remaining parcels to acquire in the Flint Pen Strand are small, platted lots from the 1960’s Sun Coast Acres land development. Although it is time consuming to buy small parcels, some individual lots are strategic for management and the collective whole is important to complete. In 2007, the CREW Trust initiated a multi-party agreement to try again to buy remaining lots. The Conservancy of SW Florida sought willing sellers for the Lee County Conservation 20/20 environmental land acquisition program, and the SFWMD agreed to manage new acquisitions.

The owner wanted $250,000 for the property, but the Division of County Lands, the County Office which negotiates land purchases for the County, was able to acquire the property for $46,750.

The Conservation 20/20 program buys environmentally important lands for preservation. It is funded by a property tax, which was approved by referendum in 1996. It is 50 cents for every $1,000 of taxable property value. Since the first purchase in 1997, the County’s Conservation 20/20 program has made 110 land purchases, and the land inventory now stands at 24,457 acres.

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Lee County Purchases 219 Acres of Environmental Lands on Pine Island
February 13, 2012

Lee County purchased a 219-acre conservation preserve on Pine Island today at a cost of $772,000. The acquisition was funded by the Conservation 20/20 Program with a $20,000 contribution from the Calusa Land Trust and Nature Preserve of Pine Island. The parcel is located south of Pine Island Road along the shoreline of Pine Island Creek. It is located directly across the Creek from the Little Pine Island Mitigation Bank preserve.

The parcel has 82 acres of mangrove wetlands along Pine Island Creek, 45 acres of submerged (creek bottom) land in Pine Island Creek and 92 acres of uplands. Mangroves are important as a nursery for juvenile fish and to filter water pollutants before they reach Pine Island Creek. The uplands are currently vegetated primarily with the invasive exotic tree species melaleuca (or paper tree). They will be restored to native pine flatwoods. Once restored, the pine flatwoods could be home to eagles, osprey, gopher tortoise, beautiful pawpaw and other listed species.

The map shows the boundaries of the land area (upland and wetlands).

The Conservation 20/20 program buys environmentally important lands for preservation. It’s funded by a property tax, which was approved by referendum in 1996. It is 50 cents for every $1,000 of taxable property value. Since the first purchase in 1997, the County’s Conservation 20/20 program has made 109 land purchases and the land inventory now stands at 24,448 acres.

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Prairie Pines Trail Closure
January 25, 2012

As early as Monday January 30th portions of Prairie Pines Preserve will be closed. The area of the preserve east of the ditch crossing bridge will be closed Monday through Friday in order for a melaleuca removal project to be completed. All designated public access gates east of the ditch crossing will be closed. The main entrance off of US 41, the 1.8 mile equestrian/hiking trail and the ¼ mile crushed trail loop will remain open daily. We will post the exact closing date as soon as it is confirmed. All designated public access gates will be opened for Saturday and Sunday use by 8 am Saturday morning and will be closed at 6 pm Sunday night.