The Florida Acquisition and Restoration Council has voted to add phase 1 of the Bonita Estero Rail Trail to the Strategic Managed Area Lands List Florida Forever Project.
Adding the BERT project to the Florida Forever program’s acquisition list ensures the land is eligible for acquisition by the state.
Florida Forever is the state’s premier conservation and recreation lands acquisition program and serves as a blueprint for conserving Florida’s natural and cultural heritage. The Strategic Managed Area Lands List Florida Forever Project includes critical segments of the Florida Priority Land Trail System intended to complete gaps and further contiguity.
“Thanks to the Acquisition and Restoration Council, the addition of BERT to the Strategic Managed Area Lands List Florida Forever Project provides the opportunity to tap into an important funding source toward realizing this community-transforming project. Coupled with already-pledged local funding from the Village of Estero, City of Bonita Springs, and Collier County, we are close to realizing the funding goal to acquire the corridor,” said Doug Hattaway, southeast region conservation director for TPL.
TPL negotiated a purchase agreement from the rail corridor owner, Seminole Gulf Railway, providing its time and expertise to raise the funding and facilitate the property's transfer into public ownership. TPL is working with the elected officials of Estero, Bonita Springs, and Collier County and with the local advocacy group Friends of BERT.
“The communities of Lee and Collier counties enthusiastically support the use of this unused rail corridor for conservation and a recreational trail. Friends of BERT is a local advocacy organization representing thousands of residents that are looking forward to accessing the trail as a way to engage with nature. We are excited about Florida Forever, and the opportunity we now have to help fund the rail corridor purchase, moving us closer to making BERT a reality,” said Deborah Orton, president of Friends of BERT.
Phase 1 of BERT consists of an 11.4-mile underutilized rail corridor in Lee and Collier counties intended to be converted into a public trail as part of a statewide greenways and trails network. The corridor is a designated priority trail segment of the 2024-2028 Florida Greenways and Trails System Plan.
The corridor’s acquisition will also fill a strategic gap within the Florida Gulf Coast Trail, a Florida-designated regional trail system.
BERT’s length, width (130 feet), and location within developed areas of Lee and Collier counties, affords multiple additional public benefits. The rail corridor also serves as a refuge for wildlife with its proximity to the Railhead Scrub Preserve at the southernmost portion of the corridor. In addition, the corridor crosses the Estero River, Spring Creek, Imperial River, and Oak Creek — all of which flow into the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve — and an extensive network of wetlands connecting the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed and the Larry Kiker Preserve to Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve.
The trail will also provide a dedicated, safe, and affordable transportation route in one of the most deadly areas of the country for cyclists and pedestrians. And the trail’s proximity to where people live, work, and play will facilitate community connection and a connection with the outdoors while bolstering local economies.
About Trust for Public Land: Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,504 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, and raised $110 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 10 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.
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