FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONSERVATION 20/20 RECEIVES STATE GRANT FOR 4TH YEAR IN A ROW

FORT MYERS, Fla. (October 29, 2004) - For the fourth consecutive year, Lee County is in line to receive reimbursement from the state for Conservation 20/20 lands the county has purchased.

The county was notified this week by the Florida Communities Trust Program that its application for reimbursement of $2.53 million for the Wild Turkey Strand Preserve Project has been approved.

Wild Turkey Strand Preserve is 2,041 acres east of Southwest Florida International Airport running from S.R. 82 to near Alico Road. It was purchased in January 2003 for $6.25 million.

In all, the county will have received $11.7 million in state funding for Conservation 20/20 purchases over the last four years, thanks to the hard work of the county's County Lands Division, Parks & Recreation Department and grant writer Mindy Collier.

Additionally, a county team led by Commission Chairman John Albion traveled to the FCT Governing Board meeting in Tallahassee Sep. 1-2 and was instrumental in getting additional points for the project on the funding scoring system.

The funds will be used for restoration of the site and possibly for additional acquisition through Conservation 20/20.

Wild Turkey Strand Preserve is primarily a mosaic of forested freshwater wetlands and forested uplands with native habitats consisting of pine flatwoods, cypress heads and sloughs, freshwater marshes, and ponds. The large size of the property will continue to provide important habitat for wide ranging animals such as the black bear, panther, hawks, and wood storks.

Other Conservation 20/20 purchases receiving reimbursement in the last four years were:

Prairie Pine Preserve (2,700 acres) - in North Fort Myers, north of Del Prado Extension between I-75 and U.S. 41. Two tracts purchased (April 2001, 2,389 acres; August 2003, 320 acres) totaling $11.8 million. The FCT reimbursement was $2.73 million (on second tract).

Bunche Beach Preserve (700 acres) - fronting Estero Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, located south of Summerlin Road and east and west of John Morris Road; was purchased in August 2001 for $6.4 million. FCT reimbursement was $3.2 million.

Caloosahatchee Creeks Preserve (1,115 acres) - north shore of Caloosahatchee River east and west of I-75; was purchased in December 2000 for $6.4 million. FCT reimbursement was $3.2 million.

The Florida Communities Trust is a state land acquisition grant program housed at the Florida Department of Community Affairs. FCT provides funding to local governments and eligible non-profit environmental organizations for acquisition of community-based parks, open space and greenways that further outdoor recreation and natural resource protection needs identified in local government comprehensive plans. Matching and full grants for land acquisition projects are provided to communities through an annual competitive application cycle. About $66 million is available to eligible applicants each year.

Lee County's Conservation 20/20 Program is funded through a property tax of 50 cents for every $1,000 of taxable property value. Conservation 20/20 is a willing seller program to acquire and manage land critical to help sustain: 1) water supply and water quality; 2) flood protection; 3) wildlife habitat; and 4) passive recreation. It is overseen by Lee County taxpayers through the Conservation Lands Acquisition and Stewardship Advisory Committee (CLASAC or Conservation 20/20 Advisory Committee), with the help of the Board of Lee County Commissioners and county government staff.

Since its inception in November 1996, the program has purchased 11,220 acres of environmentally sensitive land for long-term preservation at a cost of $68.2 million.