Address / Location:  Located northeast of Marco Island, with currently gated access from Curcie Road off CR 82, surrounded by state and federal conservation lands, the McIlvane Marsh Project consists of an 800-acre mangrove salt marsh.  Conservation Collier acquired 385.9 acres between 2007 and 2024.  Collier County also owns 20 acres within McIlvane Marsh, acquired as mitigation in a land swap in 1999, making a total of 405.9 acres in County ownership for conservation. The State of Florida owns 329 acres within the marsh in a mosaic pattern with Conservation Collier lands, for a total of nearly 735 acres out of the 800-acre marsh currently in conservation status. 

Manager Contact Information
Email: conservationcollier@colliercountyfl.gov
Phone: (239)-252-2961

Preserve Size: 385.9 acres

Dates Acquired: Between July 2007 and July 2024

Cost of Acquisition: $2,827,300

Printed materials:  Interim Management Plan

Public Access Facilities:  McIlvane Marsh preserve is currently gated and not open to the public. 

Plants and Wildlife: Native plant communities existing in the marsh include mangrove swamp and salt marsh.  The area is home to listed species including American crocodile, American alligator, snowy egret, wood stork, tri-colored heron, osprey, little blue heron, bald eagle, everglades snail kite, Florida panther and Florida black bear.  Many other species of birds and amphibians also live within and utilize the McIlvane Marsh. 

Reason for Acquisition: The McIlvane Marsh contains coastal wetlands that protect water resource values by providing habitat for wetland dependent wildlife, many of them listed species.  The marsh serves as a filter for pollutants running off adjacent developed areas before the water reaches nearby marine and estuarine communities and protects developed properties to the north from hurricane storm surge.