$900K granted to protect 1.34 acres of owl habitat in Cape Coral

With funding from a state grant, five lots in the city of Cape Coral will be conserved to help protect the burrowing owls that live there. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission provided a $900,000 grant to the city for permanent conservation of the lots, which total 1.34 acres.

To receive the grant, the commission required the city to give a conservation easement on each lot to an accredited land trust. The nonprofit Big Waters Land Trust was selected to hold the easement, which is essentially a deed restriction limiting land use forever to promote conservation. While Big Waters Land Trust will hold the easement, the city of Cape Coral will own and manage the properties in partnership with the Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife. 

Located in northwest Cape Coral, the five lots being conserved are between Tropicana Boulevard and Pine Island Road, a spokesperson for Big Waters Land Trust says.