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NORTHERN PINE ISLAND

Calusa Island Preserve

GPS Coordinates: Lat 26.7036/Lon  -81.8592 (check Closure dates)

Calusa Island is approximately 60 acres in size, largely covered in black and red mangroves. The Calusa Island Preserve includes the western half and parts of the eastern side of the island. Located just off the northeastern tip of Pine Island, it sits east of Shell Cut and north of Jug Creek. Historically, the island was inhabited by Indigenous peoples. Samples taken from the eroding north face of the island’s shell midden date to the Late Archaic period (1200–500 BC). According to the Randell Research Center (2016), “The LA people are greatly under-represented in history… Calusa Island serves as a record of Southwest Florida’s LA people and their environment, and is a precious, rare ‘book’ in an already small library on the history of the Calusa people and their predecessors. Toward the island’s eastern portion are approximately 6 acres of uplands on ancient shell middens, forming a tropical hardwood hammock. The western part of the hammock contains private residences, while the eastern section includes a public picnic area. Access is by kayak from the north via Charlotte Harbor. While the picnic area is open, there are currently no public trails. Please respect all signage regarding closures and private property.

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Dean Preserve

GPS Coordinates: Lat 26.7023/Lon -82.1494

This preserve covers the eastern tip of Bocilla Island in downtown Bokeelia. Ed and Deanna Dean created the preserve by donating a conservation easement to the Calusa Land Trust. The easement prohibits development of the property and ensures that the scenic mangrove backdrop to downtown Bokeelia will be preserved in perpetuity

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Wigert-Barron Preserve

GPS Coordinates: Lat 26.6939/Lon -82.1434

The Wigert-Barron Preserve is a 32-acre natural sanctuary located between Barrancas Avenue and Jug Creek. This preserve encompasses three distinct ecosystems: coastal scrub, pine flatwoods, and mangrove forest. This creates a serene habitat for waterfowl, otters, and even an occasional alligator. Visitors can enjoy the scenery from benches overlooking Rubye’s Pond or by taking a hike along the loop trail that meanders through the diverse habitats. A notable feature of the preserve is its thriving colony of gopher tortoises, a keystone species native to the southeastern United States. These tortoises are known for their extensive burrows, which provide shelter for over 350 other species. To educate visitors, informational signs have been installed near active burrows. Please note that dogs are not permitted in this preserve.

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Kreie Island 

GPS Coordinates: Lat 26.6933/ Lon -82.1727

Kreie Island, separated from the mainland portion of the preserve by the narrow, mangrove-canopied Post Office Cut, features a rare and remarkable three-acre tropical hardwood hammock nestled within a surrounding mangrove forest. This unique habitat supports a rich diversity of plant life. The 67-acre island was acquired through a generous bargain sale by longtime Pine Island residents, Rosalie and Herbert Kreie. In addition to the central hammock, the property includes a second, smaller upland ridge. A primitive trail connects the tropical hammock to the cut between Little Bocilla Island and the Kreie property, while a nature trail circles the perimeter of the island. Calusa Land Trust land steward volunteers are currently working to remove invasive vegetation from both upland areas.

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Big Jim Creek Preserve

GPS Coordinates: Lat 26.68527/Lon -82.16527

The Big Jim Creek Preserve is the primary conservation area for the northern end of Pine Island. Along with adjoining lands managed by Lee County and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, this 325-acre preserve helps protect much of the island’s northwest tip, but not all of it. Dominated by expansive mangrove forests, the preserve also features central tidal salt flats and approximately 30 acres of creeks and bays. These waterways offer over five miles of canoeable shoreline, inviting quiet exploration. Big Jim Creek Preserve serves as a vital sanctuary for colonial wading birds such as ibis, egrets, roseate spoonbills, and herons. It also supports a thriving nursery for marine life, from microscopic phytoplankton to fish, crustaceans, and porpoises.

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Fritts Park

GPS Coordinates:Lat 26.6783/ Lon -82.1528

Opened in late 1995, Fritts Park is a 2.5-acre scenic upland area in Bokeelia, formerly a mango grove. Located just south of the Pink Citrus Mobile Home Park, it can be accessed by turning west from Stringfellow Road onto Beach Daisy Lane. The park is dedicated to Walbridge Otto (Bill) Fritts, a longtime environmental journalist in Southwest Florida. He and his wife, Peg, owned the nearby historic cracker home and Pine Breeze Native Plant Nursery for four decades. Fritts Park serves as a peaceful spot for picnics and community gatherings. It has hosted music festivals, celebrations, and Calusa Land Trust events. 

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Ed Chapin Preserve / Kell Kellermann Vista

GPS Coordinates: Lat 26.6637 / Lon -82.1180

Located at the east end of Royal Oakley Lane in Bokeelia, the Ed Chapin Preserve borders the Smokehouse Bay Preserve. This scenic area honors longtime Calusa Land Trust Board member and Chief Land Steward Ed Chapin. The adjoining Vista is named after Clarence “Kell” Kellermann, a dedicated CLT member who generously donated the one-acre parcel on the western edge of the preserve. The preserve offers a sense of openness and natural beauty.  Visitors will find a kayak launch and trail that winds through the preserve into Little Smokehouse and Smokehouse Bay. Please note that this kayak trail should be considered extremely rugged and currently unmaintained. Please respect the nearby private properties adjacent to the preserve.

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Bud House Preserve
(also known as Calusa Canal Preserve)

GPS Coordinates: Lat 26.6606 / Lon -82.1318

Named in honor of longtime Calusa Land Trust member Bud House, this preserve protects a portion of the ancient Pine Island Canal, one of the few known aboriginal transportation canals in the world. The canal once stretched across Pine Island from the Pineland archaeological site to Matlacha Pass, serving as a vital travel route for the Calusa people. Though long recognized, the canal’s exact route and construction details remained a mystery for over a century. Anthropologist Frank Hamilton Cushing described the canal in the 1890s as about 30 feet wide and 5 feet deep. In 1995, archaeologists George Luer and Ryan Wheeler, along with volunteers, began documenting its path. Their work led to the identification of six key parcels along Meadow Lane containing clear canal evidence. These parcels were nominated for preservation, and the Calusa Land Trust voted to acquire them as they became available. In a 1997 article, Luer and Wheeler concluded the canal was a feat of engineering, designed with precision to follow elevation changes and use natural groundwater and rainfall for water flow. The CLT has since acquired two canal parcels and continues to seek opportunities to preserve additional sections of this remarkable cultural landmark.

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Taylor-Willow Lake Preserve

GPS Coordinates: Lat 26.6357 / Lon -82.1281

The Taylor-Willow Lake Preserve is a 37-acre conservation area in Bokeelia, Florida. At its heart lies Willow Lake, a seasonal freshwater body surrounded by a prominent grove of willow trees. The preserve also features extensive live oak stands adorned with bromeliads, a palmetto prairie extending westward into salt flats, and a mangrove forest. This diverse landscape encompasses nine distinct habitat types and holds potential as a future scrub jay habitat. Visitors can explore the loop trail, that meanders through various ecosystems, offering opportunities for wildlife observation and nature appreciation. Access to the preserve is available via a gated entrance and pedestrian pass-through off Alcorn Street in Bokeelia. The Calusa Land Trust continues to manage and enhance this preserve.

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CENTRAL PINE ISLAND

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McCardle Island Preserve

GPS Coordinates: Lat 26.6462, Lon -82.0831

McCardle Island is a 51-acre mangrove island in Matlacha Pass, just south of the bridge. It was donated to the Calusa Land Trust in 1991 by the Kim Evans Family. Not long after, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service claimed ownership, citing a historical technicality from Florida’s territorial days. While the government has not acted on this claim and Lee County still lists the Trust as owner, the Trust collected on title insurance and used the funds for other conservation work. Despite the title dispute, the island remains protected, and Pine Islanders continue to benefit from this generous donation.

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Underhill Creek Preserve

GPS Coordinates: Lat 26.6437, Lon – 82.0547

Underhill Creek Preserve is located on the Cape Coral side of Matlacha Pass, just south of the power lines that cross to Master’s Landing on Pine Island. This 80-acre mangrove preserve was the last unprotected tract on the southwest tip of Cape Coral not already included in the State Buffer Preserve. The site is ideal for paddling, as scenic Underhill Creek winds through the mangroves, offering canoe and kayak access while protecting essential coastal habitat.

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Baxley Preserve

GPS Coordinates: Lat 26.6081, Lon – 82.1037

In 1998, Joe and Judy Baxley donated this 5.4-acre preserve to the Calusa Land Trust. Located on the southeast side of Pine Island at the end of Redwood off Woodstock, near Pine Island Creek, the property features pine flatwoods, a transition zone, and mangroves. Though appraised at just $30,000, its environmental value is far greater. Joe Baxley, a retired teacher from Pine Island Elementary, famously brought his fifth-grade class on an annual tour of local conservation lands, inspiring generations of students to appreciate nature.

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Pine Island Flatwoods Preserve

GPS Coordinates: Lat 26.5518, Lon -82.0928

This 92-acre preserve offers excellent hiking along old logging roads that wind through native pine flatwoods. The area is home to slash pine, eastern longleaf pine, palmetto, wildflowers, and gopher tortoises. Established in 2002 through Lee County’s Conservation 20/20 Program with support from the Calusa Land Trust, the preserve is jointly managed and highlights the island’s natural upland interior.

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Weir Preserve (aka Dobbs Preserve)

GPS Coordinates: Lat 26.5445 Lon -82.0831

The Weir Preserve consists of 70 acres purchased by the Calusa Land Trust in 1999 from Herbert and Edna Dobbs, along with 20 adjacent acres protected under a Lee County conservation easement. Located between the Tropical Homesites development and Matlacha Pass, the preserve contains upland, transitional, and mangrove habitats. Invasive plants like Australian pine and Melaleuca have been removed from the upland area, and restoration efforts continue in the transition zone to support a healthier ecosystem.

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