$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. 

The properties are home to a significant number of Florida burrowing owls, according to a statement from Big Waters Land Trust, which says Cape Coral is home to the largest population of burrowing owls in the state, with an estimated 1,000 nesting pairs. Among the smallest owl species, burrowing owls spend much of their time on the ground in open, treeless areas and are classified as threatened by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission due to habitat loss.

Funding for the grant comes from mitigation fees paid to offset burrowing owl habitat impacts. It marks the first time the commission has given this type of grant to protect burrowing owl habitat, according to Big Waters Land Trust. The grant was provided in partnership with the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida.

Big Waters Land Trust, based in Osprey, has helped protect more than 20,000 acres in Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, Collier and parts of Hillsborough, Hardee, DeSoto and Glades counties since its founding in 2003.