Citrus grower-turned-developer Alico is spending $5 million on a wildlife crossing under State Road 82 to allow animals to avoid being hit by vehicles traveling beneath the busy roadway.
The gift to the Florida panther, black bear, alligator, deer and dozens of other animals comes as Alico’s first major development, Corkscrew Grove Villas, is in the permitting process.
The Fort Myers-based company faced freezes, droughts, diseases, and pest infestations during the last 125 years of citrus farming, But citrus greening disease and hurricanes since 2017 were too much — the citrus company's production dropped by 73 percent from its high six years ago.
Alico announced its exit from citrus production in January. In March, Alico unveiled Corkscrew Grove Villages, a 9,000-home development in northwest Collier County near the Lee and Hendry counties border.
When developers want to build east of I-75 these days, they know they will run into opposition from environmentalists and community activists. Many builders respond by using less of the footprint of the subdivison for homes and businesses, and more for parks, wetlands, and open spaces where panthers and other animals can still roam.
In this case, Alico designed the development with environment forethought, said Brad Cornell, an analyst for Audubon Western Everglades and Audubon Florida.
“We have had some concerns that we shared with them, and they have been responding very positively,” Cornell said. “And that is good.”
The location of the wildlife underpass along S.R. 82 has been tweaked, Cornell said. Alico’s plans to restore the eastern edge of the development from farmland back to wildlands, which will greatly benefit panthers, bears, and other animals ambling along the Florida Wildlife Corridor, were built-in from the get-go.
Alico’s underpass, which will add to the more than 200 statewide, will be built during the final stages of widening S.R. 82 between Fort Myers and Immokalee in two years.
Brent Setchell, a Florida Department of Transportation wildlife crossing expert, said Alico has enthusiasm for the wildlife underpass.
“These guys stepped up and just said that, 'hey, we want to, we want to do this as part of our project to because it's the right thing to do'," Setchell recalled Alico execs said. “Having just the conservation lands is not sufficient. You have to have the crossings underneath the road to be able to get wildlife safely connected to other habitats."
Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a non-profit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.
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