Feb 15, 2007

RIBBON CUTTING ON MITIGATION/PRESERVATION PROJECT SET FOR WEDNESDAY 

FORT MYERS, Fla. – 

WHAT:  Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Island Park Regional Mitigation Site at Estero Marsh Preserve 

WHEN:  Wednesday, February 14, at 11 a.m. 

WHERE:  Island Park Road, south of Fort Myers, between Royal Woods and Newport Glen 

BACKGROUND: 

The Lee County Board of County Commissioners, Lee County Conservation Land Acquisition and Stewardship Advisory Committee, United States Army Corps of Engineers, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, South Florida Water

Management District and the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council pooled their resources and worked cooperatively in establishing an efficient restoration of wetlands on Lee County owned and environmentally sensitive Conservation 20/20 land. 

Lee County reached a significant milestone in February 2006 when the Lee County Board of County Commissioners approved the first project in a Natural Resources Preservation/Master Mitigation Plan that has been in the works for five years. From the beginning of the process, the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council, serving as the facilitator, brought all the key agencies and organizations to the table to discuss and plan this major environmental project. As a result of those meetings, the Island Park Regional Mitigation Site at Estero Marsh Preserve is the first Lee County Department of Transportation mitigation project on a Conservation 20/20 preserve. The mitigation was required for the unavoidable impacts associated with the necessary expansion of the Three Oaks Parkway Extension South. 

The Board of Lee County Commissioners awarded the $ 923,000 contract to Bundschu Kraft to manage the construction of this 80 acre project ( the entire Estero Marsh Preserve consists of 243 acres ). The exotic vegetation has been removed and replaced by over 1000 large trees, 1000 small trees and shrubs ( pines, cypress, buttonwood, wax myrtle ) and over 12000 herbaceous plants (pickerel weed, bulrush and cordgrass.) Now that one year of intensive exotic maintenance is complete an additional 130,000 herbacous plants will be planted during the rainy season. Additional project features include the excavation of a filter marsh and canal bank. Florida Power & Light granted a right-of-way consent agreement to allow Lee County to install the culverts under the easement to re-establish the historic flow of water across the property. This is a meaningful water quality improvement, on a countywide basis, because the reestablished flows and the creation of the filter marsh provide additional water quality treatment prior to the water's discharge into Hendry Creek and Estero Bay. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection's management of the adjacent Estero Bay Buffer Preserve helps contribute to the environmentally sensitive nature of the 20/20 preserve while keeping the exotic and nuisance vegetation to a minimum. 

In May 2005, the Lee County Commissioners endorsed a plan to allow mitigation of public sector projects on Conservation 20/20 parcels. The plan allows for accelerated restoration of Conservation 20/20 preserves and mitigation of critical public works projects in a meaningful, countywide approach, instead of on an isolated or piecemeal fashion. Conservation 20/20 was created in 1997. Since that time, the County Commissioners with the guidance and counsel from the Lee County Conservation Land Acquisition and Stewardship Advisory Committee have acquired 17,555 acres of environmentally sensitive land for preservation. Much of the land is combined in 29 preserves that are managed by Lee County Department of Parks and Recreation which is also developing Land Stewardship Plans for each of the preserves. The department also supports the countywide Master Mitigation Plan that helps the county meet the mitigation requirements of regional public works projects. The plan also provides a comprehensive approach to restoring the "Green Infrastructure" of Lee County which supports the economy and our quality of life. Construction of the Island Park Regional Mitigation Site satisfies the mitigation requirements of the South Florida Water Management District, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the Three Oaks Parkway South Expansion road project. Additionally, the mitigation site provides restoration and enhancement on Lee County Conservation 20/20 lands known as the Estero Marsh Preserve. Once permit conditions have been completed the Estero Marsh Preserve will be managed by Lee County in conjunction with the adjacent state owned land managed by the Department of Environmental Protection thus continuing agency cooperation and ecological benefits of the restoration. The Master Mitigation Plan is an outgrowth of the problems the county has had in the past satisfying, in a meaningful way, mitigation requirements for road projects, particularly the widening of Alico Road that took three years to permit. 

Lee County began developing its Master Natural Resources Preservation/Mitigation Plan in early 2002 to proactively address potential cumulative impacts to the county's natural resources such as water supply, water quality and wildlife habitat due to existing and future development including both private and public works projects. This proactive and comprehensive approach results in meaningful environmental mitigation in exchange for impacts to lower quality wetlands and wildlife habitat. 

The remainder of the preserve (approximately 160 acres) will be restored and enhanced as a phase II project that will provide mitigation for public works projects in advance of their construction and resulting environmental impacts. All permits have been obtained, contracts awarded and construction will begin in the next month or two. Completion of the project will result in a fully restored 20/20 preserve, regionally significant mitigation for public works projects and significant cost savings for the taxpayers of Lee County.

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