Trail Project Receives Funding Pledge from Collier County
Rail-to-Trail Corridor Finds Momentum Forward
Collier County, FL (Date TK) — Trust for Public Land (TPL) and Friends of BERT applaud the Collier County Commission’s pledge of $6.89 million to support the Bonita Estero Rail Trail (BERT). The pledge is critical to maintaining forward momentum on the BERT project, a greenway trail that aims to enhance outdoor recreation, neighborhood connectivity, healthy lifestyles, safe routes to schools, alternative transportation, and economic opportunities.
In 2024, TPL, a national organization with extensive experience on rail-to-trail projects, stepped in to help realize a rail-to-trail project in Lee and Collier counties. TPL successfully negotiated a purchase agreement for the nearly 15-mile stretch of rail corridor extending from the John Yarbrough Trail south into Collier County. In Collier County, purchase of the corridor would allow the three separate Railhead Scrub Preserve parcels to be connected into one, enhancing the public’s ability to access this 135-acre preserve containing some of the region’s last remnants of Florida scrub habitat. In addition, plans call for the future BERT trail to connect to the Paradise Coast Trail at Veterans Memorial Parkway.
“In addition to connecting people to parks and the outdoors, BERT will save lives by providing safe alternative routes to school, work, and local businesses,” said Doug Hattaway, southeast region conservation director for TPL. “We are incredibly grateful to the Collier County Commission’s leadership to invest in the acquisition of the Bonita Estero Rail Trail and realize the multitude of community benefits it offers,” Hattaway added.
TPL, together with the elected officials of Estero, Bonita Springs, and Collier County, and Friends of BERT, is using its expertise to garner the support and funding for the project from local, state, federal, and private sources. BERT will ultimately be publicly owned for public enjoyment. It is a key segment of the Florida Gulf Coast Trail that ties into the statewide network of existing and planned trails.
“Collier County has joined the City of Bonita Springs and the Village of Estero pledging funds from the local jurisdictions to purchase the rail corridor. Their commitment demonstrates the intrinsic value that the Bonita Estero Rail Trail will bring to their respective communities and moves us closer to making BERT a reality,” said Deborah Orton, president of Friends of BERT.
Funding is currently being sought for the first of two acquisition phases of the project. The first phase is 11.4 miles extending from Wiggins Pass Road in Collier County to Estero Parkway in Lee County. The total cost of purchasing this portion is $70.4 million. The Collier County pledge joins recent pledges of up to $17 million from the City of Bonita Springs and $15 million from the Village of Estero, bringing the funds available for the purchase over the halfway mark. The balance is hoped to originate from private, state, and federal funding sources. To keep the project on track, the property must be purchased by March 2026.
About Trust for Public Land
Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,504 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, and raised $110 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 10 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.
