Conservation 20/20 committee talks tortoises, FDOT purchase

Now that the Lee County has purchased more than 12,000 acres of preservation land with taxpayers’ money, it is facing some tough decisions on how to manage it.

Two management issues came before the committee that oversees Conservation 20/20 land Thursday with one being resolved and the other being forwarded to a higher power.

One decision involved determining that dislocated gopher tortoises won’t find new homes on publicly purchased preservation lands.

The other issue dealt with whether to sell part of a county property along U.S. 41 to the Florida Department of Transportation, FDOT, which would use it for a retention pond.

After a lengthy discussion, members of the Conservation Lands Acquisition and Stewardship Advisory Committee forwarded a proposal by FDOT to purchase preservation land along U.S. 41 to county commissioners without taking action on it.

The fate of homeless gopher tortoises took less time.

Allowing gopher tortoises to relocate onto Conservation 20/20 land would require an amendment to the program’s current regulations, said Bill Burdette, a member of the committee.

Because the environment on the 20 properties purchased through the program is not very suitable for gopher tortoises, the group recommended not to forward the issue to county commissioners.

Mitigation on the publicly owned property should be reserved for public projects, Burdette said.

Others on the committee agreed.

Much of the lands with areas suitable for gopher tortoises already have the reptiles inhabiting them, said committee member Eric Linbland.

The committee may revisit the issue in the future, depending on what type of land it acquires, said member Bill Hammond.

County commissioners will have to decide on the fate of the Boomer property, south of Broadway Road on U.S. 41.

As FDOT designs the final section of U.S. 41 to be six-laned, it needs the property for a retention pond to treat storm water runoff.

The pond would allow runoff to be treated instead of being placed directly into the Estero River as it is today, said Hesam Mirani, a drainage engineer working on the project for FDOT.

FDOT identified four alternative properties, but the Boomer property is the most cost-effective and provides the most environmental value, Mirani said.

A pond would help beautify the area, provide wetlands and act as a habitat for wildlife, he said.

“The water quality that this site provides is very important to the Estero River,” Mirani said.

But restrictions on Conservation 20/20 lands precludes the county from excavating on the site, said county attorney David Owen.

A voluntary sale of the land could also subject the county to litigation, he said.

FDOT could take the property through imminent domain, but that could be a lengthy and expensive proposal, said Michael Rippe, director of transportation development for FDOT.

If the acquisition of land for a retention pond makes the project more expensive or take longer, it could delay the widening of U.S. 41, Rippe said.

FDOT is working with the county to begin widening U.S. 41 next year, about four years ahead of schedule.

“The state is trying to work with the county,” Rippe said. “We just want a roadway built.”