The Density Reduction/Groundwater Resource (DR/GR) designation was applied to most of southeast Lee County, Florida in 1990 to protect the area’s shallow aquifers and reduce the County’s population capacity. The 83,000 acres of the southeast DR/GR host rural neighborhoods, limerock mines, and active farms. The land also contains valuable ecological and hydrological features including panther habitat and public supply wells. Since the designation of the area, the pressure to mine and build new residences has been increasing. In the fall of 2007 the Board of County Commissioners initiated a 14-point Action Plan addressing critical mining, traffic, and land use issues in the DR/GR. A major planning effort was part of this initiative. Using a mining truck impact evaluation, an integrated surface and groundwater model, detailed ecological mapping, and a land use study, the Prospects for Southeast Lee County Plan attempts to define the proper balance of uses for the future of the DR/GR area. Dover, Kohl & Partners led the project team, with collaboration from Spikowski Planning Associates, Kevin L. Erwin Consulting Ecologist, Inc., Hall Planning & Engineering, Dan Cary, Berger Singerman, David Douglas Associates, Inc., and DHI Water & Environment, Inc.