Lee County commissioners approve purchase of 2 Conservation 20/20 parcels

Lee County commissioners on Tuesday approved the purchase of two parcels totaling 216 acres for the Conservation 20/20 Land Acquisition Program.

The parcels, one in eastern Lee County and one on Pine Island, are contiguous to existing preserves. The parcels are:

· About 201 acres contiguous to Imperial Marsh Preserve-Galloway Tract. The land is about a mile south of SR-82 and about 3 miles west of the eastern county line.

The parcel consists of a diverse mix of upland and wetland native plant communities, including flatwoods dominated by South Florida slash pine, live oak hammock, mesic hardwood hammock dominated by laurel oaks, cypress forest and some freshwater marshes.

The site has wading birds in the freshwater marshes including mature and immature wood storks, sandhill cranes, glossy ibis, white ibis, snowy egrets, little blue heron, tricolored heron and great blue heron.

The purchase price is $1.3 million.

· About 15 acres of land on Pine Island contiguous to the Pine Island Flatwoods Preserve, as well as Calusa Land Trust’s conservation land. The parcel consists of native pine flatwoods and mangrove forest.

The purchase price is $52,500.

The Conservation Land Acquisition and Stewardship Advisory Committee (CLASAC) in July approved forwarding both of these purchases by unanimous vote.

Conservation 20/20, which has preserved 30,225 acres since its inception, is Lee County’s environmental acquisition and management program. Conservation lands help the county protect drinking water, enhance water quality, provide nature-based recreational opportunities, protect areas from flooding and provide wildlife habitat. For more information, visit www.Conservation2020.org.