Conservation-land program scrutinized

Should local government be in the business of buying conservation land?

That was the question at the heart of a heated debate between Lee County Clerk of Court Charlie Green and Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah at a packed Tiger Bay Club luncheon in Fort Myers recently.

Green recently conducted audits of Lee County's Conservation 20/20 that concluded the county had overpaid for conservation land, especially during the real estate downturn. Judah countered Green's analysis was flawed by personal opinions of property values.