Conservation group needs help
Just days remain for a non-profit organization to raise nearly $300,000 to help in the purchase of 190 acres of critical habitat land for endangered species and game fish nurseries.
Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast has created SavePineIsland.org to help.
The non-profit land trust negotiated the purchase through Lee County’s 20/20 Conservation program for less than half of the appraised value. The county will pay $2 million. Two appraisals in December show the value at $4.5 million and $5 million.
But, because of the massive amount of invasive plant species, another $299,000 is required to be in hand to pay for removal, said Marjorie Floyd, a land trust spokeswoman. Closing is scheduled for Aug. 11, and the money needs to be in hand by then. The trust also is accepting pledges. It has raised about $100,000 so far, but the time to raise the remaining amount, about $200,000, is ticking.
Lee County 20/20 will own and manage the land. Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast owns and manages the adjacent 230-acre park which is known as Pine Island Preserve at Matlacha Pass. In time, the 230 acres will be open to the public and have a picnic shelter, trails and a raised boardwalk, interpretive signage, a kayak launch and more.
“First, though,” Floyd said, “we need to be sure the adjacent 190 acres is saved. “
What will happen to the land once purchased will be determined by Lee County.
“Part of Lee County’s interest in protecting this land was the fact that non-native, invasive plants species would be removed from such a large parcel which benefits native Florida wildlife and plants,” she said. “The removal of non-native invasives from the property is a condition of the sale and purchase contract that Lee County executed and was one of the reasons the 20/20 program approved moving ahead with the acquisition of the property.
“When the cost of removing the non-native invasive plants became an issue during negotiations, Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast offered to raise the money to save the deal — and the land,” she said.
The land originally was planned for development.
Floyd said there are many reasons to purchase the property and would like to see anyone who lives or plays along the coast from Boca Grande to Naples donate.
“Florida has already lost 50 percent of the mangroves, and islands need mangroves for storm protection and habitat for marine animals,” Floyd said.
“The conservation value of the land and the size of the parcel are unusual,” she said. “The mangrove fringe and backwater ponds of this property have been identified as habitat for juvenile tarpon and snook, species critical to the local economy.
“Matlacha Pass is a nursery for the Gulf of Mexico and the bays and it is sensitive to changes in freshwater flow from stormwater. Threatened and endangered species like roseate spoonbills, tri-colored herons, reddish egrets, gopher tortoises and more rely on this property for their habitats,” she said.
The property also is between other properties already in the hands of the non-profit or government agencies.
“The property offers connectivity all the way from Stringfellow Road to Matlacha Pass which means there are multiple habitats that can sustain wildlife,” Floyd said. “A species may mate in one habitat, nest in another and feed in yet another. They need all of those to survive and this property offers connectivity of pine flatwoods, marsh, salt tern, hardwood hammock and mangroves.
“This property complements protected lands nearby including Matlacha Pass Aquatic Preserve, Matlacha Pass National Wildlife Refuge, Charlotte Harbor Buffer State Park and Little Pine Island Wildlife Refuge.”
Paddlers also would benefit from the purchase.
“The site is also located on the Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail and is adjacent to the Pine Island-Hendry Trail on Lee County’s Greenway Master Plan. The property also borders 230 acres purchased by Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast in 2009.”
The property would not only benefit those living on Pine Island and the immediate surrounding area, she said.
Since 2003, the Foundation has protected more than 8,000 acres on 22 properties in Sarasota, Manatee and Lee Counties. Some are parks open to the public, some are conservation easements on privately owned land, and some protect critical plant and wildlife habitat and are not open to the public, Floyd said.
For example, those areas opened to the public include, Bay Preserve at Osprey has three cracker cottages, a 1931 neo-classical residence on Little Sarasota Bay, a dock, quarter-mile nature trail, a performance pavilion, an artist-in-residence facility and is on the county historic register. The American Littoral Society has a demonstration garden for Florida-friendly plants, plein-air painters use the grounds regularly. Visit www.conservationfoundation.com to learn more about specific sites and programs.
But, Floyd stresses, “Preserving Pine Island’s fragile coastal habitat is essential to the regional economy that depends on, among other things, sport fishing and eco-tourism. Protecting our natural resources, especially in critical areas like Pine Island, is necessary to bolster those industries.”
And Dr. Albert Joerger, the foundation’s founder, added: “The compelling conservation values of the land and the rare opportunity to protect such substantial acreage have earned broad support from a diverse coalition of the area’s opinion leaders and decision makers. Together we can protect our fragile coastal environment and save this land on Pine Island but the clock is ticking,”
To donate or learn more about the foundation go to www.savepineisland.org or call 941-918-2100.