Weigerts donate 22 acres to Calusa Land Trust
Last Wednesday morning, Jon and Annette Weigert joined members of the Calusa Land Trust for a picture commemorating their donation of 22 acres of land to the trust.
“My family has owned this for many years,” Jon Weigert said. “My father Walter owned part of this, and myself and my brother Walter owned half. I didn’t want to see it developed and the land is way more than I can handle, so we thought it would be a good thing to preserve the property from development.”
“This is actually a new archeological district named ‘Calusa Island Barrancas Archeological District,'” Chief Ranger Ed Chapin said. “This district includes Calusa Island, an original 11 acres and the 22 acres donated by Mr. and Mrs. Weigert. What makes this ‘Calusa’ is the shell mounds that were on all three properties. We think one of them has been destroyed.”
“This fantastic, new, acquisition on the north end of Pine Island comprises mangrove habitat, a transition zone and one of the few coastal scrub habitats in this area,” CLT President John Kendall said. “The scrub is a very unique environment with its own plant communities including several oak species which are generally not found on Pine Island. It also has a large population of endangered gopher tortoises and an active osprey nest.”
The Calusa Land Trust is in the process of removing any exotic plants and fencing the preserve which has been damaged by ATV activity. Their plan is to make the property available to the public as a walk-in experience with trails, benches, a tiki hut and educational signs pointing out the unique features of each environment.
The Calusa land Trust’s primary mission is to “protect the natural diversity and beauty of the Pine Island region by acquiring, managing and preserving in perpetuity environmentally sensitive or historically important land and to foster appreciation for and understanding of the environment and our past.”
“We can’t express how much this means to us,” Rad Hazen said. “This is a great addition to what we already have here. Thanks so much.”