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20/20 Land is Purchased on the Imperial Marsh Preserve
Jul 6, 2007 PRESS RELEASE July 6, 2007 20/20 land is purchased on the Imperial Marsh Preserve Lee County added 232 acres of pine and cypress forest and freshwater marsh to the Imperial Marsh Preserve this week using Conservation 20/20 Program funds. The property is located on the western boundary of the Imperial Marsh Preserve, two miles south of S.R. 82 on the east side of Green Meadows Road. The Imperial Marsh Preserve is part of an expansive forest and wetlands ecosystem that extends from S.R. 82 southward to Corkscrew Road. It ultimately connects southward to the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed in Lee and Collier Counties. The Imperial Marsh Preserve is comprised primarily of lands acquired to offset the impacts of the S.W. Florida International Airport. This corridor preserves critical habitat for the Florida panther, black bear, deer, bobcat and other mammals that need large areas to roam. It also protects an important groundwater resource area that provides Lee County citizens with drinking water. The County will ultimately develop a management plan for the new preserve and will, at that time, seek input from the community as to how to best utilize the property. Possible public uses to be considered will be horseback riding, hiking, and bird watching. The land was acquired through separate negotiations on two parcels that together total 232 acres. Collectively, the land owners wanted $23,032,350 for the two parcels. The Division of County Lands, the County Office which negotiates land purchases for the County, was able to acquire the properties for $5,568,000. The Conservation 20/20 program buys environmentally important lands for preservation. It's funded by a property tax, which was approved by referendum in 1996. It is 50 cents for every $1,000 of taxable property value. Since the first purchase in 1997, the County's Conservation 20/20 land inventory now stands at 18,327 acres.
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