Manatee County looks to protect Florida panther, Myakka land with $5 million purchase

Manatee County officials hope to partner with the state to add a key link to the Florida Wildlife Corridor near Myakka City.

That potential link is a 550-acre stretch of land in East Manatee County — space that county staff say could help endangered Florida panthers traverse the state and allow threatened Florida scrub jays to nest while also giving residents a new place to enjoy nature.

The property surrounds Anson Road, a private country road just east of Betts Road and south of State Road 70, near Dakin Dairy Farms. The land, which is roughly the same size as Rye Preserve in Parrish, is about 24 miles east of downtown Bradenton.

Staff and volunteers with the county’s Environmental Lands Program say buying the property, which they call the Myakka Corridor Addition, would also help form a crucial connection between conservation lands to the north and south.

The land is valued at around $9.5 million dollars, according to property records, and the owner is willing to sell. Staff say they’re looking to split the cost between Manatee County’s voter-approved conservation fund and funding from the state’s Florida Forever program.

“Without the partnership of Florida Forever, we’d be paying 100% of the purchase price. With their partnership we have an opportunity for significant funds,” said Manatee County Environmental Lands Program Manager Debra Woithe during a recent Land Use Meeting.

Woithe asked board members to sign off on a letter of support for the project to help secure the state funds.

County eyes Myakka land for conservation

The property contains a mix of farmland, wilderness and a few structures. Several qualities, including its location, make it a very appealing choice for conservation, staff say.

“It’s immediately adjacent to the 105-acre Triple Oak Preserve that we closed on in September,” Woithe told county commissioners.

Combined with Triple Oak, the Myakka Corridor property could become a wilderness bridge that helps link Myakka River State Park to the south with Duette Preserve and other conservation lands to the north.

Woithe said as the Triple Oak property neared closing, she reached out to the landowners of the Anson Road properties and found out they were willing to sell.

In September, the project gained the full backing of the Environmental Lands Management and Acquisition Committee (ELMAC), the all-volunteer group that helps prioritize county conservation efforts.

“This property is awesome because it started off with the desire of the family that owns it to work with the county and protect where their home is,” said Mason Gravley, ELMAC’s chairman. “It’s blossomed into this really cool relationship, and potentially the ability to connect these lands to the north and south.”

New preserve could link Myakka to Duette, help Florida panther

In addition to creating a mini wildlife corridor in Manatee County, the new preserve would contribute to the Florida Wildlife Corridor — a statewide conservation project that aims to conserve nearly 18 million acres of land and protect 200 imperiled plant and animal species. Of that goal, about 9.6 million acres, or 54%, have been conserved, according to the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation.

Conservationists, nonprofits and governments around the state are in a race against development to save the remaining pieces.

“Even though there’s not a ton of our county in the Florida Wildlife Corridor, the part that is there is a really essential piece,” said Gravley, who also works for the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation. “We’re homing in on this area for panthers that use the Myakka River Valley to get up to Duette.”

Florida panthers have recently been sighted in East Manatee County, and conservationists are hoping that protecting more land in the area could aid in a longstanding goal to help the cats move north. Around 200 panthers are estimated to remain in the wild, and they are mostly concentrated in South Florida, where they face increasing threats from development, pollution and record deaths on Florida roads. But wildlife biologists believe there is still hope for the species if they can establish healthy populations in other parts of the state.

Gravley said Manatee County residents should be proud of the conservation efforts that they voted to support with tax dollars in 2020. The tax that funds the county’s Environmental Lands Program costs the average homeowner about $45 per year.

“I think we can be a really good example of how to slow down and manage our growth and prioritize the places that need to be protected,” Gravley said. “It’s doing our part to make sure that vision comes to be.”

Commission supports Myakka land buy: ‘Great opportunity’

“This is something that really excites me,” said Commissioner Carol Ann Felts, whose district includes Myakka. “A few years ago, we voted to increase our property taxes, which is a phenomenon to get anybody to do. But with that increase, we’ve added on so many green spaces.”

“This is something that’s going to give us almost our own mini corridor,” Felts said. “These are large parcels of property.”

“This is an incredible opportunity,” said Commissioner George Kruse. “Not just for the county, but the fact that with this letter we can potentially leverage our ELMAC funds, which are slowly dwindling in terms of availability. This is a great opportunity to get a lot of money from Florida Forever to help facilitate creation of more green space and environmental protection that these taxpayers wanted here in Manatee County.”

Commissioners voted 6-0 to send the letter of support, with Commissioner Tal Siddique absent.

What happens next?

Woithe said state conservation officials gave initial approval for adding the Myakka corridor to the Florida Forever Priority List in December, which would make the project eligible for state funding. A final vote will be held in April, Woithe said. State officials asked Manatee County leaders for a letter of support before moving forward.

County staff hope to close on the property this year.

Before buying conservation lands, staff negotiate a selling price with the landowner. If an agreement on the sale price is reached, the deal comes back to the Board of County Commissioners for final approval.

What to know about proposed Myakka Corridor nature preserve

Here are some more details about the land that Manatee County is considering for its next nature preserve:

• The 551-acre group of properties contains several habitats, including scrub, wet prairie, marshes, wetlands and hardwood forest.
• A large chunk of the property is pasture land that can be restored into wildlife habitat, county staff say.
• There are gopher tortoises on the property, and staff say it could be another future location for the county’s gopher tortoise relocation program.
• Staff say the Myakka Corridor land would be a prime place to expand recovery efforts for the Florida scrub jay, the only bird species unique to the state. Duette Preserve and other nearby conservation lands are home to an estimated 50 to 60 scrub jay families. County staff and their partners, including state agencies and Mosaic, have set a goal of at least 100 families in Manatee County to ensure the population’s genetic health and survival.
• Recreation opportunities at the preserve could include hiking, biking, horseback riding, birding, stargazing, camping and hunting, a staff report said.
• County officials have so far made three land purchases with the conservation fund approved by voters in 2020: $15.5 million for a 98-acre expansion of Emerson Point Preserve in Palmetto, $11.2 million for the purchase of the 68-acre Crooked River Ranch in Parrish and $3.6 million for the 105-acre Triple Oak Preserve in Myakka.