Marco’s Newest Conservation Land Cleared of Invasives

After celebrating the Conservation Collier land purchase, Collier County cleared the protected track on South Barfield of invasive species. The improvement comes as the City of Marco Island seeks a conservation land consultant to acquire additional grants for land acquisition. 
The incoming heavy equipment came as a surprise to Marco Island residents in late August, including Marco Island City Council members, who said they appreciated the improvements but had hoped to get an announcement of its commencement in advance. 

The native animal species on the lot also may not have had warning, but their safety was taken into account by the project management, environmental officials assured the reporter. 

“Brazilian pepper was consuming the property,” said Brittany Piersma, a field biologist with Audubon of Western Everglades. 

Human residents’ voiced concerns online, to the Coastal Breeze News and to City Council that the burrowing owls, gopher tortoises and eagles residing on the property, which is located on South Barfield Drive near Publix, were being put at risk, potentially due to what they believed may be unexpected development activity. However, those worries were soon put to rest when officials from Audubon of Western Everglades, members of Marco Island City Council, and Collier County staff confirmed the work was of environmental benefit, protecting the native species in their approach. 

“It took Marco Island two years to get this. We finally got it, and it sat for more than six months with nothing done to the lot,” said Marco Island City Councilman Rich Blonna. “That’s what’s been so frustrating for people on Marco,” Blonna said. “Residents were freaking out,” he said.  
The South Barfield purchase included four lots: 181, 191, 201 and 221 South Barfield, totaling 2.13 acres bought at a cost of $3.14 million from Annecy Marco LLC in late 2023. The lot closest to Publix had a bald eagle's nest visible from the multi-use path. Plus, it is home to numerous gopher tortoises protected from traffic by black fencing on the perimeter. 
The last week of August, Conservation Collier staff and contractors, with the help of biologists, trimmed trees and removed Brazilian pepper hedge and other invasive plant species. The lot’s burrows and nests were mapped out to protect them, with a biologist guiding the way so that all work with heavy equipment was accomplished without harm, confirmed Piersma.  

The Conservation Collier staff member closest to the project, Mitch Barazowski, a preserve manager, was not available to comment upon the project’s completion, having recently left his position with the department, colleagues reported.  

Conservation Collier is a Collier County government program that uses a voter-approved special property tax levied specifically for the purchase and maintenance of conservation land. County staff at the time of purchase had estimated it would take several months to begin maintenance.  
“This will massively help the gopher tortoises,” Piersma had said in response to concerned citizens.  

Additional land surveys and removal of trash and debris will continue, said Audubon of Western Everglades staff. 
The eagle and their nest may not be present throughout the wet season, but the eagles return and rebuild regularly, said Piersma, consoling concerned residents online. 

Marco Island Searches for New Conservation Land Consultant 

In addition to ongoing attempts at conservation land purchases through the County’s Conservation Collier land acquisition program, the City of Marco Island is investing in other approaches.  

“In the meantime, there is an initiative in the City’s operations budget for a position at a cost of $150,000 every two years to seek out open space funding and grants,” said Blonna.  
The whole function will be to find those grants that assist the city in acquiring additional conservation land, he said. Then, the city will likely donate that land to Conservation Collier or Audubon of Western Everglades for management, Blonna said. 
“We can’t go buying up every vacant lot on Marco Island because that would erode the tax base. We really have to be selective and choose the lots that make the most sense with the best habitats for the most wildlife and contiguous to allow species to go from one track to the next,” said Blonna. 
Currently, the City is in the phase of creating a request for proposals to work with a person who will just focus on raising money to acquire open space, he said.  
“I’m really optimistic about this,” Blonna said.  
Conservation Collier has yet to develop a plan to return the money taken from the trust funds in 2023 that they used to minimize property tax increases this past fiscal year. County Commissioner Burt Saunders was the only dissenting vote for taking the money, which created a community outcry at the time.