•HRES 856 IH 
Whereas, on May 8, 2023, Collier County celebrated its 
100th anniversary in Everglades City, the birthplace of 
Collier County; 
Whereas Collier County is the largest county in Florida with 
a total area of 2,305 square miles, and a land area of 
2,025 square miles; 
Whereas Lee County has a total area of 1,212 square miles, 
and a land area of 785 square miles; 
Whereas Collier County has 48 miles of white sandy beaches 
with 53 public access points, and approximately 80 per-
cent of land area in Collier County is set aside for preser-
vation; 
Whereas Lee County has 47 miles of white sandy beaches 
with 101 public access points; 
Whereas Collier County hosts several different natural envi-
ronmental communities, such as the— 
(1) basin swamp; 
(2) baygall; 
(3) beach dune; 
(4) coastal berm; 
(5) coastal grassland; 
(6) coastal interdunal swale; 
(7) coastal strand; 
(8) dome swamp; 
(9) estuarine composite substate; 
(10) hydric hammock; 
(11) mangrove swamp; 
(12) marine composite substate; 
(13) marine unconsolidated substate; 
(14) maritime hammock; 
(15) mesic flatwoods; 
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•HRES 856 IH 
(16) mesic hammock; 
(17) rockland hammock; 
(18) salt marsh; 
(19) scrub; 
(20) scrubby flatwoods; 
(21) shell mound; 
(22) sinkhole lake; 
(23) slough; 
(24) swamp lake; and 
(25) wet flatwoods; 
Whereas Lee County hosts several different natural environ-
mental communities, such as the— 
(1) beach dune; 
(2) coastal grassland; 
(3) coastal interdunal swale; 
(4) coastal strand; 
(5) depression marsh; 
(6) mangrove swamp; 
(7) maritime hammock; 
(8) mesic flatwoods; 
(9) scrub; and 
(10) shell mound; 
Whereas Collier County’s Land Development Code affords 
protection to several species, such as the— 
(1) bald eagle; 
(2) butterfly orchid; 
(3) cowhorn orchid; 
(4) Curtiss’s milkweed; 
(5) Florida black bear; 
(6) Florida panther; 
(7) Florida scrub jay; 
(8) Florida clamshell orchid; 
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•HRES 856 IH 
(9) ghost orchid; 
(10) giant wild-pine; 
(11) gopher tortoise; 
(12) inflated wild-pine; 
(13) red-cockaded woodpecker; 
(14) sea turtle; 
(15) stiff-leaved wild-pine; 
(16) twisted air plant; 
(17) west coast prickley apple; and 
(18) West Indian manatee; 
Whereas Lee County’s Land Development Code affords pro-
tection to several species, such as the— 
(1) American alligator; 
(2) American crocodile; 
(3) American oystercatcher; 
(4) Arctic peregrine falcon; 
(5) Audubon’s crested caracara; 
(6) beautiful pawpaw; 
(7) Big Cypress fox squirrel; 
(8) brown pelican; 
(9) burrowing owl; 
(10) Curtis milkweed; 
(11) eastern indigo snake; 
(12) Everglades mink; 
(13) Fakahatchee burmannia; 
(14) Florida black bear; 
(15) Florida coontie; 
(16) Florida panther; 
(17) Florida sandhill crane; 
(18) Florida scrub jay; 
(19) golden creeper; 
(20) gopher tortoise; 
(21) gopher frog; 
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•HRES 856 IH 
(22) hand adder’s tongue fern; 
(23) iguana hackberry; 
(24) joewood; 
(25) least tern; 
(26) limpkin; 
(27) little blue heron; 
(28) piping plover; 
(29) prickly-apple; 
(30) red-cockaded woodpecker; 
(31) reddish egret; 
(32) roseate spoonbill; 
(33) roseate tern; 
(34) Sanibel love grass; 
(35) satinleaf; 
(36) simpon’s stopper; 
(37) snail kite; 
(38) snowy egret; 
(39) southeastern American kestrel; 
(40) southeastern snowy plover; 
(41) spiny hackberry; 
(42) tricolored heron; 
(43) twisted air plant; 
(44) wild cotton; and 
(45) wood stork; 
Whereas Collier County is home to 25 threatened and endan-
gered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973; 
Whereas Lee County is home to 23 threatened and endan-
gered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973; 
Whereas Collier County hosts several Florida State parks and 
lands, including— 
(1) Collier-Seminole State Park; 
(2) Corkscrew Regional Ecological Watershed; 
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•HRES 856 IH 
(3) Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park; 
(4) Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park; 
(5) Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest; and 
(6) Picayune Strand State Forest; 
Whereas Lee County hosts several Florida State parks and 
lands, including— 
(1) Babcock-Webb Wildlife Management Area; 
(2) Cape Haze Aquatic Preserve; 
(3) Cayo Costa State Park; 
(4) Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park; 
(5) Corkscrew Regional Ecological Watershed; 
(6) Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve; 
(7) Estero Bay Preserve State Park; 
(8) Gasparilla Island State Park; 
(9) Gasparilla Sound-Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Pre-
serve; 
(10) Koreshan State Park; 
(11) Matlacha Pass Aquatic Preserve; and 
(12) Pine Island Sound Aquatic Preserve; 
Whereas Collier County is home to several federally des-
ignated lands, including— 
(1) Big Cypress National Preserve; 
(2) Everglades National Park; 
(3) Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge; 
(4) Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Re-
serve; and 
(5) Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge; 
Whereas Lee County is home to federally designated J.N. 
‘‘Ding’’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge, which is part 
of the largest undeveloped mangrove ecosystem in the 
United States; 
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•HRES 856 IH 
Whereas Collier County is home to several bays, inlets, rivers, 
and paddling trails, such as, the— 
(1) Addison Bay; 
(2) Barfield Bay; 
(3) Barron River; 
(4) Blackwater River; 
(5) Chokoloskee Bay Clam Bay; 
(6) Cocohatchee River; 
(7) Fakahatchee Bay; 
(8) Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling 
Trail; 
(9) Goodland Bay; 
(10) Gulf Intracoastal Waterway; 
(11) Gullivan Bay; 
(12) Johnson Bay; 
(13) Little Hickory Bay; 
(14) Moorings Bay; 
(15) Naples Bay; 
(16) Pelican Bay; 
(17) Rookery Bay; 
(18) Tarpon Bay; 
(19) Water Turkey Bay; and 
(20) Venetian Bay; 
Whereas Lee County is home to several bays, inlets, rivers, 
and paddling trails, such as the— 
(1) Caloosahatchee River; 
(2) Charlotte Harbor; 
(3) Estero Bay; 
(4) Estero River; 
(5) Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling 
Trail; 
(6) Gulf Intracoastal Waterway; 
(7) Hendry Creek; and 
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•HRES 856 IH 
(8) San Carlos Bay; 
Whereas located in Lee County, Cape Coral has more than 
400 miles of canals, which is more than any other city 
in the world; 
Whereas Lee County has one of the world’s largest popu-
lations of bottlenose dolphins and West Indian manatees; 
Whereas Fort Myers’ Southwest Florida International Air-
port (RSW), located in Lee County, was ranked by Trav-
el Lens as the number 1 airport in the country in 2022; 
Whereas Lee County is home for the spring training of the 
Boston Red Sox, and the Minnesota Twins Major League 
Baseball teams, who play at JetBlue Park and Hammond 
Stadium, respectively; 
Whereas the Florida Everblades, a professional minor league 
ice hockey team, play at Hertz Arena, which is located 
in Lee County, Florida; 
Whereas the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, a Minor League 
Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Sin-
gle-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, also play at Ham-
mond Stadium in Lee County, Florida; 
Whereas Collier County is ranked 1st out of 67 Florida coun-
ties in golf courses per capita, and there is 1 golf course 
per every 23 square miles in Collier County; 
Whereas Lee County is ranked 4th out of 67 Florida counties 
in golf courses per capita, and there is 1 golf course per 
every 7 square miles in Lee County; 
Whereas Collier County had a population of 390,912 in 2022, 
which represents a 2.2-percent growth from 2021, and is 
the 19th-largest population in the State of Florida; 
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•HRES 856 IH 
(1) 9,077 veterans that served during the Vietnam 
Era; 
(2) 3,821 veterans that served during the Vietnam 
Era and Korean war; 
(3) 3,821 veterans that served during the Korean 
war; 
(4) 141 veterans that served in between the Korean 
war and World War II; and 
(5) 1,474 veterans that served during World War II; 
Whereas, in 2021, Lee County had 51,186 veterans aged 35 
years and older, including— 
(1) 22,358 veterans that served during the Vietnam 
Era; 
(2) 7,056 veterans that served during the Vietnam 
Era and Korean War; 
(3) 5,341 veterans that served during the Korean 
war; 
(4) 249 veterans that served in between the Korean 
war and World War II; 
(5) 1,934 veterans that served during World War II; 
and 
(6) 12 veterans that served before World War II; 
Whereas, in 2021, 6,561 Collier County residents 65 years 
and older lived in a different State a year ago, rep-
resenting 5.5 percent of the total 65 year and older popu-
lation in Collier County; 
Whereas, in 2021, 9,280 Lee County residents 65 years and 
older lived in a different State a year ago, representing 
4.3 percent of the total 65 year and older population in 
Lee County; 
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•HRES 856 IH 
Whereas Collier County had a median age of 51.5 years old 
in 2021, and had 119,479 residents that were at least 65 
years of age in 2021; 
Whereas Lee County had a median age of 48.9 years old in 
2021, and had 213,650 residents that were at least 65 
years of age in 2021; 
Whereas Collier County had 83,012 residents born in Florida 
in 2021, constituting 22 percent of Collier County’s pop-
ulation; 
Whereas Lee County had 195,215 residents born in Florida 
in 2021, accounting for 26 percent of Lee County’s popu-
lation; 
Whereas Collier County had 1,877 lodging establishments in 
2023, resulting in a 482.9-percent increase since 2016; 
Whereas Lee County had 2,099 lodging establishments in 
2023, resulting in a 114.6-percent increase since 2016; 
Whereas Collier County had 322 farms in 2017, with 258 
farms or 80 percent of all farms being less than 100 
acres; 
Whereas Lee County had 800 farms in 2017, with 706 farms 
or 88 percent of all farms being less than 100 acres; 
Whereas Collier County had 148,461 acres of farmland in 
2017, and Lee County had 87,189 acres of farmland in 
2017; 
Whereas Collier County had 219 farms that focused on ani-
mal production in 2017, representing a 92.1-percent in-
crease from 2002; 
Whereas Lee County had 540 farms that focused on animal 
production in 2017, representing a 47.9-percent increase 
from 2002; 
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•HRES 856 IH 
Whereas the market value of agriculture products sold in Col-
lier County totaled $189,700,000 in 2017, and the total 
value of agricultural products in Lee County totaled 
$104,400,000 in 2017; 
Whereas Collier County produced 2,500,000 boxes of citrus 
fruits in the 2021–2022 season, ranking 7th highest in 
the State; and 
Whereas Lee County produced 480,000 boxes of citrus fruits 
in the 2021–2022 season, ranking 13th highest in the 
State: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives recog-
nizes, acknowledges, and appreciates the economic poten-
tial, demographic conglomeration, agricultural diversity, 
and environmental paradise that Lee County, Florida, and 
Collier County, Florida, have to offer. 
Æ 
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