Lee County advances 21 Conservation 20/20 nominations; board adopts tiered priority system amid calls to replenish fund

The Lee County Board of County Commissioners approved a two‑tier priority system for a slate of 21 Conservation 20/20 land nominations and authorized staff to pursue due diligence and negotiations on highest‑priority parcels, while several speakers urged the board to replenish the county’s acquisition fund to pursue more purchases.

Staff presented 21 nominations divided into an 11‑parcel Tier 1 list (estimated cost about $4.5 million) and seven parcels in Tier 2 (estimated additional cost far higher), with three nominations still pending final vetting. Robert Clemens of County Lands told commissioners the county currently holds about $19 million in the acquisition fund and that the full list of nominations could total roughly $47.5 million. Any parcel that reaches a purchase agreement would be brought back to the board for final approval.

Public commenters — including representatives of Audubon Florida, the Calusa Land Trust, Pine Island civic groups and individual residents — urged the board to keep buying land and to follow the Conservation 20/20 ordinance’s replenishment trigger. Audubon noted several parcels’ adjacency to existing preserves and flagged nomination 654 (a 100‑acre parcel adjacent to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary) as especially important to watershed restoration efforts. Several speakers said the program is a vital tool to protect water quality, wildlife habitat and hurricane resilience.

Commissioners discussed long‑term goals and fiscal constraints since Hurricane Ian and noted competing budget priorities. Commissioners emphasized the program’s historical successes (the county has acquired about 31,700 acres and spent over $407 million on acquisitions to date) and agreed the tier system would allow staff to prioritize immediate acquisitions while preserving the ability to consider future opportunities. The motion before the board authorized staff to move forward with negotiations, due diligence and limited due‑diligence expenditures and placed the nominated parcels into the tier system; the board also approved a small due‑diligence budget for title searches and appraisals.

The motion passed unanimously. Commissioners and multiple public speakers asked staff to return with clearer funding options and expressed interest in a future workshop to discuss funding replenishment and objective tier criteria.

Ending: Staff will pursue due diligence and negotiations on Tier 1 parcels and return any purchase agreements to the board for final action; commissioners signaled they want a future workshop before making any decision on replenishing the acquisition fund.