Background

A 1994 land use study found that only 10% of Lee County was set aside for conservation.  In comparison, nearly 28% of the State of Florida is owned and managed as conservation lands and other south Florida counties have from 40% to 85% set aside for conservation.

In 1995, a group of concerned citizens noted that the rate of development in Lee County had increased substantially and time was running short in order to preserve the undeveloped natural areas.  These citizens took it upon themselves to take this cause to the local government and began lobbying for a county-based land acquisition program in order to protect these natural areas.  The group of citizens lobbying for this cause called themselves “Conservation 20/20” to signify their vision of a future Lee County with large undeveloped areas of natural habitats.

In 1996, a majority of voters in Lee County voted to increase property taxes by up to 0.5 mils to fund the purchase and protection of environmentally critical lands. The Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) created a citizen advisory committee by Ordinance 96-12. Each Commissioner appointed three members with responsibility to oversee the selection and purchase of properties and their management. The committee was named the Conservation Lands Acquisition and Stewardship Advisory Committee (CLASAC). The program became known as the Conservation 20/20 (C20/20) Program, named after the grass roots committee that fought for its creation.

CLASAC and the C20/20 Program have four main objectives:

• Protect and preserve natural wildlife habitat
• Protect and preserve water quality and supply
• Protect developed lands from flooding
• Provide resource-based recreation

CLASAC meets monthly to review nominations from willing sellers to ensure they meet the established criteria and then make recommendations to the BoCC for the purchase of these lands. These meetings are open to the public and everyone is welcomed and encouraged to attend.

The C20/20 Program is administered from two departments within Lee County, the Division of County Lands and Lee County Parks & Recreation (LCPR).  The Division of County Lands Department oversees the acquisition of new lands into the program following acquisition procedures in Florida Statue 125.355 to negotiate an offer. The Parks & Recreation Department handles the management, stewardship activities, recreation opportunities and day-to-day running of the acquired properties.