by Claudine Payne
Saving Pineland has become a big part of the lives of a lot of people in Lee County these days. The many friends of Pineland raise money, write letters to legislators, attend public hearings, donate their services and goods, and protest impending development, among other things. The shared goal of all these efforts is to preserve and protect as much as possible of the Pineland Site Complex, a cluster of archaeological sites that is all that remains of 2,000 years of life at Pineland.The first stage in the struggle to preserve Pineland began in the 1970s and 1980s, initiated by Don and Pat Randell who used the simple expedient of buying up property. Over the years, the Randells acquired and lovingly protected 80 acres of the 240-acre site complex. During this time they also became leading advocates for the preservation of Pine Island’s unique cultural and environmental heritage.
All the while the Randells were preserving the unspoiled nature of Pineland, southwest Florida was experiencing nonstop population growth. Between 1970 and 1990, Lee County’s population tripled, mostly due to migration. The accompanying development threatened to swallow up the fragile remains of southwest Florida’s past.
By the beginning of the 1980s, archaeologists had joined the preservation struggle. Concerned that impending development would result in irretrievable loss of information, George Luer began documenting the history of the Pineland Site Complex with help from Don Randell. A few years later, Bill Marquardt and Karen Walker, who had been working in the Pine Island Sound area, also turned their attention to Pineland.
It soon became clear to Bill that area residents (most born and bred elsewhere) knew very little about southwest Florida’s past. Bill knew that preservation efforts are fruitless if people are uninformed about their heritage, but he also saw that interest in learning about Pineland was high, especially among schoolchildren and their teachers. So he and a small cadre of Lee County preservation supporters set out to raise public awareness.
The result was the Year of the Indian (YOTI) project. YOTI archaeological investigations at Pineland (partially sponsored by the Randells) drew visitors and volunteers from all over south Florida. By 1992, the project had introduced thousands of southwest Florida natives and newcomers to their heritage. The ranks of Pineland supporters grew correspondingly.
In the early 1990s, Pineland was still relatively unspoiled, but development was encroaching alarmingly. Then two things happened that propelled us all into the most recent stage of preservation.
First, the Randells decided to take their support of Pineland a giant step further. In August 1994, they donated 56 acres of the Pineland Site Complex to the University of Florida Foundation for use as a research and educational center. In their honor, the property was named the Randell Research Center at Pineland. The Florida Museum pledged to raise $800,000 to endow the Center (to be matched by $400,000 in State Matching Gifts Trust Fund money). This endowment will pay for the continuing management and maintenance of the property.
So today Pineland supporters spend a good deal of their time thinking up ways to raise money, organizing events, soliciting donations of goods and services from local businesses, writing letters, making phone calls, and hosting fund raisers. It is a labor-intensive task, and much of it has been shouldered by the devoted and hard-working members of the Randell Research Center Advisory Board–all on a volunteer basis. To date we have raised over $125,000.
Even with the Randell donation, though, portions of the Pineland complex remained endangered. Many lots were scrupulously protected by their current owners, but it seemed inevitable that some would eventually be lost to development. One solution was purchase by the state under the Florida CARL (Conservation and Recreational Lands) program. So late in 1993, Karen Walker began preparing a CARL application and in doing so set in motion the second major preservation task of the 1990s.
The plan is for CARL (in cooperation with Lee County’s Conservation 2020 program) to buy all archaeologically and environmentally significant properties at Pineland. Once purchased, the properties would be managed by the Florida Museum of Natural History.
Progress on the CARL purchase has had its ups and downs. In 1996, CARL ranked Pineland high,# 11 on its priority acquisitions list, but state funding ran out before # 11 was reached. In the meantime, imminent development threatened one very important parcel, and another was in danger of being sold. Intensive efforts by Pineland supporters resulted in these two properties being rescued at the last minute.
Toward the end of 1996, CARL added two parcels to the list of “essential” properties. The Jessy-Chris property includes archaeologically significant wetlands that may contain waterlogged deposits with preserved organic remains. The other property is “The Cloisters,” which includes, in addition to archaeological deposits, a historic 1920s hotel and a more recent dormitory building. The Cloisters’ location (right across the street from the Pineland mounds) and its buildings make it an ideal candidate for a research and education headquarters.
Things look hopeful for purchase of the Pineland properties this year. CARL has moved our priority up to # 10 for 1997. But it’s too soon to sit back and relax. If the properties are not bought this year, we must start over to convince the CARL committee of the continued importance of acquiring Pineland. And of course the need to raise endowment money will be with us for some time yet.
We hope you will join us in the coming year as we continue working to save Pineland.
Top 10 Reasons to Save Pineland
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PO Box 117800
Gainesville, FL 32611-7800
