LEE COUNTY, Fla. — Conservation land makes up 27% of Lee County, including areas like Six Mile Cypress Preserve, but the county's Conservation 20/20 program is facing a critical funding gap as commissioners prepare to vote on the budget.
The Conservation 20/20 ordinance was first passed in 1996, then reaffirmed in 2016 by Lee County voters with 86% support. However, the county's proposed budget does not replenish the program's funds.
"That fund hasn't been fully replenished after a couple major purchases have come out of it. This is due to a couple of things, but the budget appropriations just weren't there," Matt DePaolis said.
DePaolis, environmental policy director for the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation, is among many asking Lee County to reconsider this decision.
The county currently has $19 million in the fund, but according to the ordinance, the county must keep between $40 million and $100 million available for land purchases.
"Currently, where it is sitting in that $19 million area, it isn't enough to acquire all the lands that have been submitted to Conservation 20/20," DePaolis said.
The county says it's focused on balancing the budget after recent hurricanes and that the ordinance does not stipulate the timing of the replenishment.
But with the ordinance passing with 86% of the vote in 2016, DePaolis believes this goes against what taxpayers want.
"People want to see our natural places protected and they want their tax dollars going to conservation efforts to protect this land," DePaolis said.
Given the rate of development in Southwest Florida, DePaolis says conservation of these lands becomes even more important.
"What we have seen a lot of, is people lamenting that more land wasn't purchased in the past," DePaolis said.
Lee County officials said the Board of Commissioners has a longstanding financial commitment to the Conservation 20/20 program and will continue to support it.
County commissioners will vote on the budget on Sept. 16.
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