Lee Commissioners approve land purchases in North Fort Myers and Bokeelia for Conservation 20/20

Writer: Carolina Guzman
Published: Updated:
North Fort Myers Conservation Credit: Lee County

The Lee Board of County Commissioners approved the purchase of a parcel of land in North Fort Myers and a parcel in Bokeelia, totaling more than 70 acres, for the Conservation 20/20 Land Acquisition Program.

On Tuesday, 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, lead trees and natural wetlands.

It has a wetland hard forest, upland mixed forest, upland coniferous forest and a naturally occurring lake. There are also potential gopher tortoises on site.

The purchase price is $5 million plus closing costs.

The parcel in Bokeelia is 20 acres at the end of Ficus Tree Lane, a private dirt road immediately south of the Calusa Land Trust & Nature Preserve and near the existing Conservation 20/20 Smokehouse Bay Preserve.

The property has scattered trees and was formerly used as a tree farm, which was 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 purchase agreement by unanimous vote.

There are currently 31,432 acres within the Conservation 20/20 Land Acquisition Program.

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.