Lee County is in Southwest Florida

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Southwest Florida encompasses a broad range of habitat types - from red mangrove forests on the coast to dry prairies inland.  This subtropical area rarely experiences frost, especially in the coastal regions.  The barrier islands found here are home to unique hardwood forests containing species usually found in tropical climates.  Inland, habitats vary by the elevation of the land which often determines the amount of available water.  In lower areas, cypress swamps are home to endangered orchids and many species of fern and shrub.  In the higher areas, the soil is very sandy.  Despite the relative shortage of water, habitats such as pinewoods and dry prairies still flourish.  See Overview.

Unfortunately, these areas are constantly being stripped as population growth and its demands on the land rapidly expand.  Yet many still remain outside the urban areas.  The maps contained on this site represent the habitat types as determined in 1997.  

Data came from the Florida Geographic Data Library, University of Florida.  An evaluation edition of ArcView 8.1 and Adobe Photoshop 6.0 were used to prepare the images.