Lee County Buys 130-Acre Buckingham Property for $10.5M To Protect Land

Lee County commissioners acquired 130 acres of Buckingham land for $10.5 million. The deal, made through Conservation 20/20, ends 30 years of fighting over development.

The tax-funded program has protected 30,000 acres across 49 locations since its inception. When the board voted yes across the board, cheers broke out in the packed meeting room.

"We want to keep the integrity intact, and that's why we fight so hard to keep that," said Don Blackburn, founder of the Buckingham Community Rural Preserve in 1990, to Fox 4.

Nancy Hutto, a resident of Buckingham for over 45 years, is thankful to keep the rural character and preserve their way of life.