By Ryan Ballogg | Bradenton Herald
A 2,500-acre land purchase approved by state leaders on Tuesday will help protect an important drinking water source for Manatee County and Southwest Florida, conservationists say.
The ranchlands sit on over six miles of Oak Creek, a tributary of the Peace River. The 105-mile river is a major drinking water source for Southwest Florida, providing around 26 million gallons per day to nearly 1 million people, according to the Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority. Manatee County is a member of the authority.
The state agriculture department’s Rural and Family Lands Program will pay $9.4 million for a conservation easement on 2,559 acres of Bentley Ranch in southeastern Hardee County, according to public records. In a conservation easement, a landowner continues to live and work on the land but permanently gives up the right to develop it, leaving it in a semi-natural state.
The purchase will also add a missing piece to the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
The easement deal was arranged by Florida Conservation Group (FCG), a Venice and Myakka City-based nonprofit that connects rural land owners with conservation programs.
In another easement arranged by FCG, the state agreed to purchase development rights on nearly 6,000 acres of ranchland in South-Central Florida’s Okeechobee County. That agreement totals just over $32 million, according to public records.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet approved the two purchases in a combined vote at a meeting Tuesday in Tallahassee.
“The marshlands of ranches feed into creeks and larger streams which flow into the Peace River, a drinking water source for Southwest Florida residents, including Manatee County,” said Jim Strickland, the FCG’s vice chairman. “This is a success story for how conservation should work across county lines.”
Lauren Yoho/Wildpath
Manatee County’s Peace River connection
Manatee County currently relies on its own supplies of drinking water, drawing about two-thirds from Lake Manatee and the remaining third from wells that tap into the Floridan aquifer in East Manatee County.
But for decades, county leaders have counted on the Peace River as a future source of water to meet demand from population growth.
Manatee County was a founding member of the Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority in 1982 and holds a seat on the authority’s board, along with Sarasota, Charlotte and DeSoto counties.
“Protecting land in Hardee County also helps provide clean and abundant water for Manatee and its neighboring counties,” FCG Executive Director Julie Morris told the Bradenton Herald.
She said it’s one of many benefits that protecting rural lands provides.
“These easements provide us green space, clean water, clean air, wildlife habitat and food security,” Morris said. “We are never going to have sufficient funding to buy all of the land we need to ensure all of those things. Conservation easements are one of the best tools we have. They allow us to protect more land for less money.”
Lauren Yoho/Wildpath
Lands add to Florida Wildlife Corridor
The Bentley Ranch conservation easement will also add an important link to the Florida Wildlife Corridor, conservationists say.
The statewide campaign to conserve 18 million acres of land to protect wildlife, water quality, outdoor recreation and more is about halfway to its goal.
“The property lies within a critical linkage zone of the Florida Wildlife Corridor, making it one of the highest priorities for conservation within the Corridor,” FCG said in a news release.
The group says the easement will help connect protected lands in Hardee and Highlands counties that are important to the survival of the Florida black bear, Florida panther, eastern indigo snake and other unique Florida wildlife.
The purchase is significant for Hardee County, which is one of the least-conserved counties in the state.
“We’re very fortunate to live in the middle of so much natural beauty and earn our living from this land,” said Jason Bentley, owner of Bentley Ranch, in a news release.
“We want to conserve these natural resources, our agricultural legacy and the local agricultural economy,” Bentley added. “The development that’s moving closer to us has encouraged us to think about the incredible water resources of this area. We want to ensure we can continue our multi-generational family operation so that it remains sustainable and can help provide food security for future generations.”