DUETTE — In this housing slump, not even the sheriff’s cattle are immune from losing their home.
Manatee County officials plan to evict the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office’s herd of beef cattle from Duette Preserve, saying it’s needed to continue restoration efforts and prevent a noxious weed from overtaking the park.
County commissioners will be asked to issue the eviction order today by directing county staff to work with the sheriff’s of- fice to relocate the 200 to 300 head of cattle by Jan. 20.
County officials say the herd, which has grazed 1,700 acres in the park’s southern section since 2002, must go so they can begin restoring the area.
Plans call for hand-planting 1.7 million pine trees from January through mid-2011 as part of the 22,500-acre preserve’s overall restoration plan.
“Our job is not to raise cattle. Our job is to restore it (the preserve) to its natural environment,” said Charlie Hunsicker, Manatee Coun- ty’s natural resources director.
“We’re now ready to restore the pasture area, and now is the time to move the cows.”
There’s another reason the county wants the cattle gone: Tropical Soda Apple, a noxious weed from South America.
Hunsicker said it is threatening to spread beyond the cattle pasture, where it is growing “robustly.”
Officials believe the weed entered the preserve through hay bales brought in to feed the cattle, which can carry the seeds in their digestive tracts for up to a week.
Cattle find the weed’s fruit unpalatable, but birds and wild animals feed on it and also can spread its seeds, according to the Florida Division of Plant Industry.
The county plans to spend nearly $153,000 to eradicate the weed from the preserve. The cattle cannot be present during treatment, and allowing them back afterward would only increase the risk of a re-infestation, Hunsicker said.
The sheriff’s office uses most of the beef to feed county jail inmates, but also sells some to make an annual $100,000 payment to the county.
“If that’s the direction the county wants to go, we’ve got no problems with that,” said sheriff’s Maj. Jamey Higginbotham, who oversees the sheriff’s corrections bureau, which includes the cattle operation.
But the cattle won’t be homeless for long: Plans already are under way to move them to roughly 300 acres to be leased from the Mosaic Co., Higginbotham said.
But that might not be enough room, and the sheriff’s office might have to lease another pasture — or thin its herd, he said.
Duane Marsteller, transportation/growth and development reporter, can be reached at 745-7080, ext. 2630.
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