Collier expands conservation lands with $1.17M deal

The 6,672 acres of land Conservation Collier has acquired over 23 years for preservation just expanded through the purchase of 19 properties for $1.17 million — properties that will be used for hiking, nature photography, birdwatching, environmental education and other preservation purposes.

Seventeen parcels totaling 47.29 acres were purchased for up to $1,160,604, including properties Conservation Collier targeted for preservation and multiparcel project areas that feature ecologically valuable land. They’ll add to the Dr. Robert H. Gore III Preserve, Winchester Head Preserve, Panther Walk Preserve, Nancy Payton Preserve and North Belle Meade Preserve.

A separate 2.73-acre parcel purchased for up to $122,030, including closing costs, will expand the Brewers Landing Preserve.

The Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved the 18 parcels for $1,174,634 at its Aug. 25 meeting, when commissioners removed an additional $108,000 property from the list. The 1-acre property off Blue Sage Drive, north of Brantley Boulevard, would have expanded Nancy Payton Preserve and its hiking trail if other properties between it and the preserve were eventually purchased. The deletion occurred despite conservationists’ pleas and a motion for reconsideration by Commissioner Burt Saunders that failed to garner a second vote.

Commissioner Chris Hall had objected to the purchase due to its location.

“It’s right next door to a house, there’s a house two lots down and the preserve is right behind it,” Hall said. “If this property did get developed, it’s not going to bother the conservation, at all. Animals would have all kinds of area right behind it — and to spend $108,000 and another almost $10 grand just to remove the exotics, I wasn’t a fan.”

After the unanimous vote to remove that parcel, Commissioner Rick LoCastro said it didn’t mean commissioners don’t care about Conservation Collier’s mission. He called the property unique due to surrounding properties but said the program could use $108,000 “more wisely.”

“We need to spend the dollars correctly,” LoCastro said, noting there’s “plenty of room” for wildlife. “Like you said, something might come to us in the future that connects those things a little bit better.”

Conservation Collier began in 2003 after a November 2002 voter referendum, when residents approved a taxpayer-funded land acquisition program funded by a property tax increase of up to 0.25 mills — $25 per $100,000 of taxable property value — for up to 10 years, and bonding for up to $75 million. It was overwhelmingly supported in two more referendums, most recently in 2020, and since then, another 2,333 acres were purchased before last week’s vote.

The process starts with a landowner or another party nominating the parcel. The Conservation Collier Land Acquisition Advisory Committee then evaluates it against specific criteria, such as rare habitats, water protection and endangered species use, and if selected, it goes on the active acquisition list. The county orders an appraisal and a Phase I Environmental Assessment to determine ecological and market value before county real estate staff negotiate prices with the seller based on appraised value, the ceiling for an offer.

The final step is approval by county commissioners, who plan to hold a public hearing in October to discuss amending the program’s guidelines.

The appraisals were based on comparable sales of wetland parcels, not upland parcels, Jaime Cook, Collier’s director of the Development Review Division, wrote in a memo to commissioners that detailed all the parcels and preserves.

Commissioners approved purchasing nine parcels from eight landowners totaling 20.57 acres that will expand the 279.4-acre Dr. Robert H. Gore Preserve at 4055 40th Ave. S.E. in Golden Gate Estates, which features roughly 1.5 miles of walking and hiking trails. The area was originally assembled and owned by the late marine biologist and ecologist Dr. Robert H. Gore III, who wanted to protect the untamed wilderness.

The preserve, which features mature cypress trees, is within the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Primary Panther Habitat Zone. Wildlife observed there also includes the Florida black bear, bobcat, swallow-tailed kite, gray fox and striped skunk. The area features protected plant species, including giant sword fern, numerous bromeliads in the Tillandsia genus and five native orchid species.

Conservation Collier purchased it in November 2018 for $3,255,940 and has continued purchasing parcels to increase the preserve, which is 2 miles east of Conservation Collier’s North Belle Meade Preserve. That 296-acre preserve benefited from the purchase of 18.3 acres from two landowners.

For the Panther Walk Preserve parcels, the county will get a 50% funding match from the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation to buy 6.14 acres from four parties for $190,080. Conservation Collier acquired the original 4.6 acres in 2007 and 2008 and began purchasing more parcels in 2022 before establishing the Panther Walk Preserve Multi-Parcel Project in February 2023. Before this purchase, the program had acquired 20%, or 84.9 acres, of the 426.1-acre project area.

For more about the program, click here.