“Rare” property in rural Manatee County considered for conservation status

Listen:

There’s an important undeveloped piece of land in Manatee County that might get protection. Florida’s Acquisition and Restoration Council, or ARC, met today Friday to take steps to conserve the property.

As one of the top ten fastest-growing counties in Florida, Manatee County has seen a lot of rapid development.

However, Julie Morris from the Florida Conservation Group wants to make sure certain lands, like the Myakka Ranch, are protected. It’s a 976-acre property in rural East Manatee County.

“This is an area where we still have really incredible natural resources and a very very limited opportunity to protect them.”

Morris advocated for the protection of this property at the State’s Acquisition and Restoration Council meeting in Tallahassee. The property is located along a tributary to the Myakka River, and a habitat for many threatened and endangered species.

“It’s very, I guess I would say a race against time, right? There’s a time-limited opportunity to protect these resources because these habitats are disappearing.”

The board voted to review the land to possibly add it to the “Florida Forever” priority list.

However, the process can be long. The vetting process requires site visits and approval from the governor. In total, the process takes at least a year.

Morris hopes that the land gets protected for the animals living there.

“We see things in this area or on this property that have become increasingly rare.”