“Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge Executive Director Ann-Marie Wildman and Southwest Florida Refuge Complex Deputy Project Leader Erin Myers, along with Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation Chief Executive Officer James Evans, recently spoke before the Conservation 20/20 Land Acquisition and Stewardship Advisory Committee in favor of its acquisition of the last privately owned 14 acres of Buck Key.

The balance of Buck Key has already been preserved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, SCCF and state, and it is managed under an agreement with the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge.

“While there was a unanimous vote by the committee to move the process forward, this is just one in many steps before the land acquisition is fully approved. But it is an important first step,” the DDWS reported.