AT A GLANCE

The Preserve has a long history of wide-ranging uses with lasting environmental impacts. Intense logging of slash pine from the late 19th century until the 1960s virtually eliminated all old-growth stands of the Southern mixed forest in South Florida. During the 1940s, Buckingham Army Air Field was developed and its associated military training activities occurred on the property. A canal and smaller ditches were dug to quickly drain the lands. During the late ’60s to early ’70s, agricultural activities had begun and quickly ended, while during the mid-’80s portions were cleared again. Cattle-grazing activities became more noticeable during the mid-1990s, and by 2007 additional land clearing was performed before the Conservation 20/20 Program acquired the land. Source: Lee County Parks and Recreation Department