Collier County has agreed to purchase about 625 acres of ranchland in Immokalee for $7.8 million, after two years of negotiations aimed at stopping a developer from carving the property into 52 ten-acre ranchettes along Oil Well Road. Commissioners signed off on the deal for Wildflowerz Ranch during a public hearing two weeks ago, and the purchase now moves forward through the county's Conservation Collier land-acquisition program.
The Conservation Collier purchasing policy typically calls for the county to pay the lower of two independent appraisals, according to Gulfshore Business. In this case, commissioners approved a price above that lower figure because of the land's environmental value. Two appraisals completed in December 2025 valued the property at $7,030,000 and $7,990,000, and the county ultimately agreed to pursue acquisition based on seller Greg Zaino's revised asking price of $7,813,564.70 — a number tied to his plan to convey an additional 14 acres to Lee County Electric Cooperative, which had offered him $825,000 and will see him build an eight-foot wall and landscaped buffer around that parcel.
Attorney Rich Yovanovich, representing the seller, told commissioners the preference was clear going into the hearing. “Our preference is that Conservation Collier buy it,” he said, adding that “if not then we'll just move forward with the development,” per the same account. Commissioners Bill McDaniel Jr. and Burt Saunders made and seconded the motion to approve the acquisition, with McDaniel saying the ranch fits Conservation Collier's requirements. The board also authorized County Manager Amy Patterson or her designee to sign the purchase agreement and agreed to continue an existing cattle lease on the land through December 31, 2027.
Blocking a 52-Lot Ranchette Subdivision
Without the county's intervention, the 625 acres were headed toward subdivision into 52 ranchettes on 10-acre parcels along the north and south sides of Oil Well Road, east of State Road 29. That kind of large-lot rural sprawl has already taken hold nearby: a 2024 Amerivest Realty ad marketed similar 10.1-acre lots at 14010 Oil Well Road as “pristine 10-acre estate lots,” with prices ranging from $289,000 to $479,000.
The property's protected status complicates any development push. Wildflowerz Ranch sits within the Big Cypress Area of Critical State Concern, established in 1973, and also falls inside the Rural Land Stewardship Area Overlay, the same report notes. The ranch is adjacent to existing conservation lands and lies within the roughly 32,000-acre Okaloacoochee Slough, a wetland system that functions as a north-south overland channel and natural drainage system.
A High Score for Habitat Connectivity
Wildflowerz Ranch earned a score of 331 out of 400 for ecological value and ecosystem connectivity when the Conservation Collier Land Acquisition Committee and county commissioners ranked it on the program's A-list for purchase back in June 2024. The land contains agricultural fields, freshwater marshes, pine flatwoods, scrubby flatwoods and mixed wetland hardwoods, and it provides habitat for wading birds, caracara, gopher tortoises, Big Cypress fox squirrels and bonneted bats, with telemetry showing Florida panthers moving through the area.
Conservation groups pressed commissioners to close the deal. Audubon Florida, Audubon of the Western Everglades and the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation all urged approval at the hearing. Marissa Figueroa told the board that protecting the parcel would improve habitat connectivity and safeguard wetlands, wildlife movement, water storage and aquifer recharge.
Leftover Infrastructure, Including a Shooting Berm
The ranch still carries physical traces of its working past, including fencing, a cattle pen and chute area, a covered shooting area, a pole barn and a shooting berm. McDaniel noted that the berm likely contains lead and may require remediation. Jaime Cook also addressed the board about the property.
A Shrinking Conservation Budget
The purchase lands just as Collier County trims the program's funding. Commissioners voted to cut annual tax collections for Conservation Collier from about $35 million to $30 million, with the lower figure taking effect for the fiscal year that began October 1, according to WGCU. Even with the reduction, the fund still holds more than $60 million for maintaining preserved land, the station reports. Conservation Collier, which began in 2003, has acquired more than 6,672 acres to date, protecting water quality and wildlife habitat while supplying recreation areas such as Freedom Park, Pepper Ranch and the Gordon River Greenway.
