Special To The Citizen

Lee County has acquired 206 acres in Buckingham, just outside Lehigh Acres. The acquisition was funded by the Conservation 20/20 Program. The property is located between the Lee County Mosquito Control District airstrip and Harns Marsh, which is an East County Water Control District surface water management area.

Access is off of Homestead Road in the Buckingham area, said Lynda Thompson, Conservation 20/20 program coordinator with Lee County Division of County Lands.

The land will be used primarily as a storm water management area to provide critical floodwater storage and water quality benefits to the Caloosahatchee River via the Orange River. The Caloosahatchee River is among the top 10 most endangered rivers in the U.S. according to the America’s Most Endangered Rivers Report.

The Harns Marsh public trail system will be extended into this property giving the public an opportunity to see its cypress, oak hammock and pine flatwoods forests. It is also an exceptional location for bird watching, Thompson said.

The owners wanted $9,750,000 for the property, but the Division of County Lands, the county office that negotiates land purchases for Lee County, was able to acquire the property for $4,631,625 last week,” Thompson said.

The Conservation 20/20 program buys environmentally important lands for preservation. It is funded by a property tax that was approved by referendum in 1996.

The tax is 50 cents for every $1,000 of taxable property value. Including this purchase, the County’s Conservation 20/20 program has made 97 land purchases and the land inventory now stands at 20,766 acres.