Conservation 20/20 lands are expanding as the Lee Board of County Commissioners approved buying about 20 acres.
Last month, Conservation 20/20 supporters had chastized the commissioners for not replenishing its coffer despite passing a $3 billion county budget.
The fund holds just more than $19 million, less than half the ordinance-required minimum of $40 million.
According to county officials, the parcels total about 20 acres in southwestern Lee County costing about $67,500. They are in the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed area.
CREW, which started in 1989, now includes more than 60,000 acres of preserves in Lee and Collier counties, the county said.
The parcels are ranked as Tier 1 acquisitions for Conservation 20/20, which are
