Big Waters Land Trust is delighted to announce the permanent conservation of five lots totaling 1.34 acres in the City of Cape Coral. The City received a grant from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) in partnership with the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida, Inc. to acquire these lots, and more in the future, to ensure the permanent protection of the land. Big Waters Land Trust holds the conservation easement while the City will own and manage the properties in partnership with the Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife.
Located in Lee County, the lots are home to a significant number of Florida burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia floridana). Cape Coral boasts the largest population of the burrowing owls in the state, estimated at 1,000 nesting pairs. Burrowing owls are among the smallest owl species and spend much of their time on the ground. They live in open, treeless areas and are active both day and night hunting for insects and small mammals. Florida burrowing owls are classified as State Threatened by the FWC due to habitat loss.
This protection marks the first time FWC distributed this type of grant to protect burrowing owl habitat. The grant is funded from mitigation fees incurred when development or human activity impact burrowing owl habitat. FWC required the City to grant a conservation easement on each lot to an accredited land trust and selected Big Waters Land Trust as their ideal easement holder. A conservation easement is a voluntary and permanent deed restriction that limits land use forever in order to protect conservation values. When held by an accredited land trust, easements are the best way to ensure land is protected in perpetuity.
Together with their growing conservation community, Big Waters has already protected over 20,000 acres across Southwest Florida. Formerly Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast, in December 2024 the non-profit rebranded to Big Waters Land Trust to better represent who they are and why their work matters. Their service area includes Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, Collier, and parts of Hillsborough, Hardee, DeSoto, and Glades Counties, and encompasses three national estuaries – Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, and Charlotte Harbor – and four significant rivers – Manatee, Myakka, Peace, and Caloosahatchee. Earlier this year they protected 14.5 acres at The Elling Eide Center in Sarasota as well as 34 acres on Sandpiper Key in Englewood. In April, Big Waters unveiled a new Conservation Plan targeting our region’s most urgent conservation opportunities and providing laser-focus to their work.
Learn more about the Conservation Plan, Big Waters’ impact, and how you can join them in their mission to protect Southwest Florida’s land and water for the benefit of people and nature on their website at bigwaterslandtrust.org. Landowners interested in learning how land conservation might work for them are encouraged to contact Big Waters by calling their office at 941.918.2100 or completing their online inquiry form at bigwaterslandtrust.org/savemyland.
About Big Waters Land Trust
Big Waters protects land and water in Southwest Florida for the benefit of people and nature. Through strategic collaborations with individuals, groups, organizations, and government, they work to ensure all people have access to clean water, fresh air, nutritious food, abundant wildlife, beautiful natural areas to enjoy, and all the other physical and mental benefits nature provides. Their vital work strengthens Southwest Florida’s resiliency to storms and floods, enriches lives, and helps safeguard our community for generations to come. Learn more at bigwaterslandtrust.org.
bigwaterslandtrust.org
