Land purchases in North Fort Myers and Bokeelia approved for Conservation 20/20
The Lee Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday voted to approve the purchase of a parcel in North Fort Myers and a parcel in Bokeelia, totaling more than 70 acres, for the Conservation 20/20 Land Acquisition Program.
Commissioners voted to approve the purchase of:
• 51 acres in North Fort Myers, contiguous to the Caloosahatchee River and the Caloosahatchee Creeks Preserve. The parcel includes oaks, pines, cabbage palms, buttonwood, sea grape, mangrove, bamboo, ear leaf acacia, cogon grass, Caesar weed poinciana tree, and lead trees and natural wetlands. It has wetland hard forest, upland mixed forest, upland coniferous forest and a naturally occurring lake. There are potential gopher tortoises on site. The purchase price is $5 million plus closing costs.
• 20 acres in Bokeelia, at the end of Ficus Tree Lane, a private dirt road, immediately south of the Calusa Land Trust & Nature Preserve, and in the vicinity of existing Conservation 20/20 Smokehouse Bay Preserve. The property has scattered trees and was formerly used as a tree farm, permanently closed after significant damage from Hurricane Ian. The purchase price is $1 million plus closing costs.
The Conservation Land Acquisition and Stewardship Advisory Committee (CLASAC) recommended approval of each of the purchase agreements by unanimous vote.
There are currently 31,432 acres within the Conservation 20/20 Land Acquisition Program.
To receive updates from Lee County Government, sign up for the newsletter here: www.leegov.com/resources/newsletters. Follow Lee County Government on Facebook, www.facebook.com/leecountyflbocc.