Apr 4, 2005

COMMISSIONER BOB JANES, DISTRICT #1
LEE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
POST OFFICE BOX 398
FT. MYERS, FL 33902-0398

PRESS RELEASE/COMMENTARY ARTICLE --- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Nan Summerall Gonzalez, Executive Assistant
              (239) 335-2224
PRESERVATION PARTNERSHIP STILL BUILDING SUPPORT FOR BABCOCK, by Commissioner Bob Janes

It's hard to describe what a great feeling I get from seeing so many people, from Lee County to Tallahassee, wearing teal wristbands to show their support for Babcock Ranch. The Babcock bracelets have been selling like gangbusters, and the environmental education students in Lee County's Monday Group, who designed and distributed them, deserve thanks for working so hard to get the word out.

Grassroots support for the Babcock Preservation Partnership has continued to grow and we're seeing some real results. The road to preserving this irreplaceable land has been long, with plenty of twists and turns, but every bump and stumble is worth it. The property is a tremendous resource and a beautiful slice of wilderness in our state, where wilderness is fast disappearing.

The property is 91,000-plus acres of minimally developed land, much of it used for cattle ranching and growing crops, that provides an important habitat for bears, panthers and other animals being squeezed out by development. What's more, as a series of articles in The News-Press recently made abundantly clear, our water resources in Southwest Florida are growing scarcer and more valuable as more and more people move to the area. The Babcock land, which contains the Telegraph Swamp and other wetlands, is almost like an insurance policy.

We're not there yet, but we're well on the way to preserving it. I'm heartened that we have the support of our governor and state legislators, and we're building support on a federal level, too. We're concerned, though, by discussion of developing some of the property as part of the deal to acquire it.

The state Department of Environmental Protection has been negotiating with the family who owns the property and there have been a few challenges. The family wants to sell its corporation, which owns the land, but the state can't buy shares in a corporation, so one alternative on the table is to invite development interests to join the proceedings. As I understand it, the developer would receive around 30 percent of the property.

The Babcock Preservation Partnership and supporters have been working from the beginning to conserve the property in its entirety. We don't believe any part of it should be developed. Putting a housing community out there could disrupt the wildlife corridor and natural resources, and it would encourage sprawl. Roads and infrastructure would have to be built up to accommodate more residents, commercial development would soon follow, and private ownership could undermine the water resources.

Liz Donley, who's helped lead the charge for the preservation partnership, and I spent some time recently in Washington, D.C., where we had some very encouraging meetings with our representatives and some organizations in a position to help. We've asked for funding assistance through three federal programs-USDA's Forest Legacy Program, NOAA's Coastal and Estuarine Land Program and HUD's Economic Development Initiative. We also had a very encouraging meeting with folks from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a not-for-profit organization created by Congress that has a lot of experience dealing with and raising funds for just these sorts of situations.

We're also getting help in Tallahassee, where Sen. Burt Saunders has introduced a bill, matched by a House bill by Rep. Dan Gelber that would provide additional funding. Another positive twist also is in the works: a group of agricultural investors, who buy up property all over the country to grow crops, is interested in purchasing the property. Their representatives were scheduled to meet with the owners this past week. It could be a good fit for the Babcock property; either way, farming would likely continue on the land, and this group is interested in participating in environmental easements and other measures to protect the sensitive natural resources.

However, my preference-and that of most supporters-is to see the whole property conserved. Farming and ranching could very well be allowed to continue, but not to the extent that it would undermine the property's environmental value, and public ownership would protect it from private development.

We're continuing to explore every option, but because the Babcock Preservation Partnership truly is a grassroots undertaking, it needs your support. Go online to www.babcockranch.org to learn more. Become a member of the partnership. Contribute financially if you can. And even if you can't, help us spread the word to your friends and neighbors, and write Gov. Bush and your legislators and let them know how important this is.

With enough power and support to keep this effort moving, we will yet be able to preserve this unique property for our own enjoyment and quality of life and for future generations-like the young students working so hard to help, and for their children, too.

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