Members of Citizens for the Preservation of Four Mile Cove on Tuesday morning toured the 194-acre tract which was recently added to Lee County’s Conservation 20/20 land preservation program. Carlene Brennen, master naturalist and member of citizens’ advocacy group that petitioned for purchase, talks with FWC gopher tortoise conservation biologist Kyle Brown about the area. MICHAEL PISTELLA

Individuals with the Preservation of Four Mile Cove group were joined by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Gopher Tortoise Biologist Kyle Brown, who inspected the area and habitats that many gopher tortoise call home.

The area is a potential gopher tortoise mitigation area, though Brown said some work is needed to bump it up to FWC standards.

He estimates 30 to 40 acres of the 194-acre tract can provide sustainable conditions for gopher tortoise burrows and said the species needs dry ground to create their burrows.

“The soil needs to be well-drained for them to be able to burrow efficiently in there,” Brown said. “(The area) definitely has some suitable soils.”

Members of Citizens for the Preservation of Four Mile Cove on Tuesday morning toured the 194-acre tract which was recently added to Lee County’s Conservation 20/20 land preservation program. ABOVE: Carlene Brennen, master naturalist and member of citizens’ advocacy group that petitioned for purchase, talks with FWC gopher tortoise conservation biologist Kyle Brown about the area. BELOW: A gopher tortoise burrow on the property. MICHAEL PISTELLA

The Lee County Board of County Commissioners in late August enthusiastically and unanimously agreed for the county to move forward with the purchase of the 194-acre tract in the Four Mile Cove area of Cape Coral; the second largest preserve in the city.

Brown said removing invasives such as Brazilian pepper trees and thinning out some of the canopy to create a more befitting habitat for the protected reptiles is needed.

The group saw an abundance of gopher tortoise burrows on their trek through land now protected by the county. Full of greenery and a nature-lover’s dream, Four Mile Cove is home to many other species as well.

“There are definitely tortoises and it’s a good property for wildlife in general,” Brown said.

With the city of Cape Coral rapidly developing, the need for a protected area for gopher tortoise is paramount to their survival amongst the human population, local environmentalists say.

There is a wide variety of plant life in the now officially preserved 194-acre tract in Four Mile Cove near Eco Park in Cape Coral. The parcel was recently added to Lee County’s Conservation 20/20 land preservation program. MICHAEL PISTELLA

Protections for the tortoise were born out of their displacement and destruction of habitat by development.

“It’s quite important to have a habitat that’s a large number of acres and can support a viable population of tortoises,” Brown said. “Any time an animal like a tortoise or many of our other wildlife come into contact with humans it doesn’t always work out well for them especially with all of the traffic and habitat loss due to development — especially in areas like Cape Coral and Lee County. You’ve got a lot of construction and a lot of folks want to build their houses and businesses in the high, dry areas, which is the tortoise’s habitat.

“The more acreage you can protect and manage for the species, the better for the long-term outcome.”

Brown and the Cape Coral based preservation group believe with a little TLC, the area can become a wildlife sanctuary in a way.

“To become a really good habitat for gopher tortoises and scrub jays and other protected species, it needs some updated management to improve the herbaceous ground cover and open things up for the native wildlife,” Brown said.

Members of Citizens for the Preservation of Four Mile Cove on Tuesday morning toured the 194-acre tract which was recently added to Lee County’s Conservation 20/20 land preservation program. A coyote paw print. MICHAEL PISTELLA

Member Joe Cruz and his volunteers are ready, willing and able to take part in any cleanup or planting event in the area to improve the quality of life.

“I’ve got a small army of volunteers lined up, ready to go at a moment’s notice for a clean-up or re-planting activity, “Cruz said. “There’s potential to improve it, to clean it up and make it more viable.”

The riverfront acreage, along with being in the same vicinity of a current state-owned preserve, provides habitat to many wildlife inhabitants including manatees, the gopher tortoises, bald eagles, smalltooth sawfish and more.

“We know that the habitat itself is quite healthy based on all of the evidence of wildlife we observed,” Cruz said.

Brown said the gopher tortoise is a “cornerstone species” as more than 350 species of wildlife have been documented using their burrows for one reason or another.

“They’re important to hold up the whole ecosystem,” Brown said. “One of the biggest treats to gopher tortoise is habitat loss, so anytime you can protect habitat that can be used by gopher tortoises, that’s going a long way.”

Cruz said he hopes that Conservation 20/20 will keep the citizens in mind going forward and have their “say” in the future of the site. Four Mile Cove includes several distinct natural environments, forested uplands, brackish marsh, mangrove forest, Caloosahatchee riverfront and submerged seagrass beds. These areas could include walking and hiking trails and kayaking trails. The Coral Point Canal, at the north side of the property, would provide convenient safe and secure public waterfront access for kayaks and canoes.

“It has potential to be a really wonderful place for ecologists and those who love nature and it’s really a questions of what the county wants to do with it.”

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