Collier and Lee County residents might be voting on land conservation funding measures in 2016.
A property tax that pays for land conservation and acquisition in Collier County expired last month. Officials haven’t made plans to renew that tax.
So, environmentalists hope to pass a referendum in 2016 that would reauthorize it once more.
In Lee County, officials are considering whether to continue its Conservation 20/20 program, which is also funded by property taxes, in 2016.
Following a workshop on 20/20 in Lee County on Monday, Brad Cornell with Audubon of Western Everglades said both programs should be preserved and even expanded.
“Both Lee and Collier’s acquisition programs are not done,” Cornell said. “They have a lot more to do. There are opportunities to improve these programs to include restoration, water quality, flood protection and even mitigation.”
Lee County Commissioners have just begun talks about whether to put a referendum on the 2016 ballot.
But, Cornell said local leaders should be collecting money for land acquisition and maintenance without waiting for a campaign to force them to collect it.
“I’ve helped run three campaigns, and it takes a lot of money and a lot of time and a lot of messaging,” he said.
Both programs were initiated following years of little funding for land conservation in the area.
