Lee County recently purchased a 219-acre conservation preserve on Pine Island for $772,000 that was funded by the Conservation 20/20 Program with a $20,000 contribution from the Calusa Land Trust and Nature Preserve of Pine Island. The parcel includes 82 acres of mangrove wetlands that are important as a nursery for juvenile fish and to filter water pollutants before they reach Pine Island Creek.

The Conservation 20/20 program, which buys environmentally important lands for preservation, is funded by a property tax that was approved by referendum in 1996. Since the first purchase in 1997, the program has made 109 land purchases, and the land inventory now stands at 24,448 acres.

For more information, call 239-533-8833, visit Conservation2020.org or email [email protected].