Manager Contact Information:

Preserve Manager: Mitchell Barazowski
E-mail:  Mitchell.Barazowski@CollierCountyFL.gov
Phone 239-252-2982

Preserve Size: 256 acres

Date Acquired: 11/14/2022

Cost of Acquisition: $2,072,500

Location: The Preserve is in the North Belle Meade area of Collier County, FL in Section 33, Township 49, and Range 27. The Preserve is situated immediately north of I-75, approximately 4 miles south of Golden Gate Blvd W, and 4 miles east of Collier Blvd. The Preserve is comprised of 36 parcels ranging from 1.16 to 20.71-acres for a total of 256-acres

Plants and Wildlife
The North Belle Meade Preserve is within a large matrix of undeveloped grazing and conservation lands; the preserve contributes to the conservation of ecologically sensitive lands within the North Belle Meade area of Collier County.  This preserve, along with the surrounding undeveloped lands, provide habitat for wide ranging carnivores such as the federally endangered Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi), Florida black bear (Ursus americanus floridanus), and bobcat (Lynx rufus), as well as their prey such as white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and feral hogs (Sus scrofa). In addition to these charismatic megafaunas, the preserve contains pine flatwoods ecosystems that provide critical habitat for the federally endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. The seasonally inundated portions of the property provide habitat for a variety of imperiled wading birds, reptiles, and amphibians.

The dominant vegetation community within the preserve is pine flatwoods, interspersed with glades marsh, palmetto prairie, cypress, and mixed scrub-shrub wetlands. A preserve-wide inventory of plants hasn’t been completed yet, but the preserve does provide habitat for the state endangered Giant Airplant (Tillandsia utriculata). The mesic and hydric pine flatwoods plant communities found across the preserve were heavily impacted by wildfire within the last decade, resulting in the significant mortality of slash pine (Pinus elliottii) across both pine flatwoods plant communities. A combination of herbaceous plant, shrub, and tree plantings will be utilized to restore native plant communities as determined by Conservation Collier land managers.

Reason for Acquisition:
The parcels comprising North Belle Meade Preserve contain large swaths of pine flatwoods which are a conservation priority and provide important habitat for the federally endangered Florida panther and red-cockaded woodpecker. This preserve can serve as a link between the Picayune Strand State Forest to the south and lands to the east such as Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge.