Our Story

For close to half a century Calusa Land Trust has been the only home-grown, all volunteer organization working tirelessly to preserve Pine Island’s unique, diverse habitats for us all to enjoy. Through these years our mission has steadfastly remained acquiring and protecting natural lands. But our priorities have adapted to changing times – from humble beginnings as a small natural land preservation association (1976) to acquiring vulnerable wetlands (1980s and 1990s) to saving imperiled uplands (2000s and 2010s) to restoring our hurricane ravaged preserves (2020s). A brief trip through the highlights of the decades follows – with a more detailed history available in our Nature Lovers’ Guide to Pine Island book.

In the beginning, in the mid-1970s Calusa Island was owned by four conservationists Fred and Diane Johnson, Bill Spikowski and Alison Ackerman. To protect Calusa Island’s special habitats in perpetuity, they created a land preservation association in 1976 – “Calusa Land Trust and Nature Preserve Association, Inc.”, which was joined by Ed Chapin in 1978. The associations started with 4 members and 60 acres on the north end of Pine Island. 

In the late 1980s the original preservation association took root and began to sprout. In 1989 it was reorganized into the Calusa Land Trust and Nature Preserve of Pine Island, Inc. under the guidance of Rick Moore. The mission was expanded to include protecting and preserving environmentally sensitive lands throughout Pine Island and a managing Board of Directors was established. During the first annual meeting, our membership grew by 10 times – from 5 to 50 and we launched our first fundraising campaign: “Buy an Acre for an Eagle”.

The decade of the 1990s was our most successful time for land acquisition. Through donations and a total investment of $210,000, an additional 1,230 acres were preserved – valued today at over $2,896,000. Notable donors included Fred Johnson, the Kim Evans family, St Jude Harbor Corporation, Ben Councilman estate, Joe and Judy Baxley, and Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Kreie, and others. Partnerships were formed with “The Guardian Angels”, Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation, Greater Pine Island Water Association and Lee County Electric Coop. Membership soared from 50 to over 600. We kicked off our first Great Calusa Rubber Duck Race and “Plunk A Plank” fundraisers. St James Creek, Eagle and Back Bay Preserves were established and St Jude Nature Trail and Fritts Park were opened, creating easier public access to our preserves. 

 During the 2000s new preserves were created in all corners of Pine Island, including a wide diversity of habitats, as well as historical parcels for the first time. From north to south, we added Smokehouse Bay in the northwest, Calusa Canal, Pine Island Flatwoods and Taylor Willow Lake near the middle of the island and Back Bay and Long Cut in the southeast and southwest, respectively. A total of 539 acres of mangroves, pine flatwoods and hardwood hammocks received new protection. Our investment of $450,000 was matched with generous donations, allowing us to acquire parcels valued at over $880,000. Our membership climbed to over 1,400.

The focus of the 2010s was acquiring upland habitats and enhancing use of our preserves. With help from Lee County Electric Co-op, Coastal and Heartland National Estuary Partnership, Cape Coral Community Foundation, Pine Island Garden Club and Matlacha Hookers we acquired 623 acres. For our investment of $750,000 we received preserves valued over $1,700,000. We have been restoring our wetland and upland habitats – removing invasive plants and planting native ones. We added trails, kiosks, tiki huts, picnictables, benches, butterfly gardens, and educational signs and participated in 2 Earth Day events. But, our membership dropped to 900, with many behind in dues.

 Halfway through this 2020 decade we’ve adapted to hurricanes, droughts, development, increasing property values, and covid. Hurricane damage to our preserves is hard to describe and calculate. Volunteers stepped up in unprecedented numbers to help at our monthly Work Parties to clean up debris and repair trails. The grand re-opening of the St Jude Nature Trail boardwalk was in early 2025, following $90,000 of professional help. Our annual Duck Race fundraiser was creatively held as a Duck Waddle 2021 and a Duck Raffle 2023. This decade our acquisitions have been small – 3 acres, costing $32,000, with a value of $207,000. We are currently negotiating for several parcels and are actively supporting Lee County Conservation 2020’s acquisition of the last large tract healthy uplands on the island. Because our active memberships dropped dramatically, we recently started an annual membership campaign.

Moving toward the future our goal remains improving the health, access and size of our preserves. Since 1976, with your amazing help, we have preserved 2,400 acres, created 29 preserves, and quadrupled our collective investment of $1,400,000 into $5,700,000 worth of invaluable habitats. Our dedicated members and volunteers will continue to collaborate with local organizations, government agencies and environmental groups who share our vision for creating a sustainable future for all Pine Island’s residents – humans, animals and plants. Please join us!