Sarasota County Environmental Lands Are Growing by 7,700 more acres east of Myakka River State Park.
Just in case you missed the news, on April 14 our County Commission approved purchasing the 3,808 acre Walton Ranch, one of the largest tracts thus far added to the County’s voter-approved Environmentally Sensitive Lands Program.
Commission approval to purchase a conservation easement for an equivalent-sized portion of the Longino Ranch is anticipated by the time this Brown Pelican is received. While both of these purchases must also be approved by the Board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District, which along with other State sources will supply well over half the funds, the District has participated in the negotiations and no problems are foreseen. Cattle ranching will continue on both tracts, but trails for birding, wildlife viewing and picnic or camping areas will be developed by the County for public access.
Probably more environmentally important than the size of the acquisitions is their location, completing a broad wildlife corridor connecting the Myakka River State Park and adjacent preserves with a preserve in DeSoto County extending to the Peace River. That should allow such wide-ranging animals as black bears and Florida panthers to establish themselves in the eastern part of Sarasota County. Young male panthers already occasionally wander north from their normal range south of the Caloosahatchee River and one may be in the Myakka area now.
-Wade Matthews, Conservation Chair
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