Lee commissioners OK Orchid Isles purchase The $16.1 million will come from Conservation 20/20 funds By Ryan Lengerich rlengerich@news-press.com Originally posted on August 07, 2007 To view this article directly, click here: http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070807/NEWS0105/70807061/1007/NEWS0105 Lee County Commissioners today approved spending $16.1 million for 105 acres in east Lee County using Conservation 20/20 program funds. The property, known as Orchid Isles, was considered for purchase for about a quarter of the price five years ago. It is owned by Randy Henderson, a Fort Myers councilman, and Tad M. Yeatter. The county passed on the land in 2002 because of concerns the proposed Hanson Street extension would reduce the property’s environmental significance. Developer D.R. Horton considered paying $4.7 million to build 283 single-family homes, but after a delay, the owners reconsidered preservation. The property is on the south side of State Road 82 between Forum Boulevard to the west and Colonial Boulevard to the east. The land is connected to the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve’s northern tip at its headwaters. Two independent land appraisals valued the property at $17.2 million and $18.4 million. Conservation 20/20 buys environmentally important land for preservation using property tax money. The program has amassed an inventory of more than 18,000 acres since its first purchase in 1996.