Unlike our forefathers who lived with an abundance of food, wealth, and natural resources, our society and our future generations on earth are losing 115 square miles of rainforest a day, increasing in population by 263,000 per day, and are facing a food shortage in the not so distant future. Consumerism has been the powerhouse of America since the 1950’s, but it had devastating consequences for our environment.
Communities across America have been creating ways of protecting its natural resources, enhancing its food protection, and securing sensitive lands for our children. Florida’s wetlands and cypress forests were devastated during the early to mid twentieth century from the logging companies, only a scarce few old cypress remain. The citizens of Collier County, Florida have been aware of such a threat and a need to protect their natural resources so they voted to tax themselves a minimal fee for the benefit of the future generations, creating the Conservation Collier Program.
In February 2009, the Conservation Collier Program purchased a 2,500 acre homestead called the Pepper Ranch Preserve, located on the north side of Lake Trafford, the largest lake south of Lake Okeechobee. The land is rich in deer, turkey, migrating birds, and many other natural species. It terrain is comprised of uplands, cypress swamps, and marsh. Its history included farming, cattle ranching, homesteading, hunting, and oil exploration. In the land’s current state, it contains a 1 mile hiking trail, a pioneer homestead, a scenic road, and a working cattle operation. The preserve can also serve a therapeutic approach to stress relief for the sheltered homeless, educating our school children on ecology and sustainability, and setting a benchmark of excellence on government’s responsibility for the environment.
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