Sarasota County protects 290 acres of environmentally sensitive land along the Sarasota, DeSoto and Manatee county line

On Feb. 23, Sarasota County acquired 290 acres along the Sarasota, DeSoto and Manatee county line. The county purchased this land as a fee simple purchase through the Environmentally Sensitive Lands Protection Program (ESLPP), which was created to acquire and protect environmental land.

“As part of the Eastern Ranchlands Protection Priority Site, this strategic purchase connects multiple green spaces, providing continuous land protection along State Road 72 into DeSoto and Manatee counties,” said Nicole Rissler, director of Sarasota County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources. “This property consists of a mixture of pasture, wetlands, mesic hammock habitat that provide a significant wildlife corridor which will now be safeguarded in perpetuity.”

The 290 acres consists of pasture, mesic hammock and wetlands habitat, and is home to the sandhill crane, Florida wood stork, ibis, crested caracara, red shouldered hawk, bald eagle, gopher tortoise, pygmy diamondback rattlesnake, and bobcat. This property also has an existing cattle grazing lease allowing cow and calf ranch operations.

About the Environmentally Sensitive Lands Protection Program

The ESLPP is a voter-approved and taxpayer-funded program that began in 1999. Since its inception, the ESLPP has protected and preserved more than 40,540 acres of natural habitat, with more than 21,000 of those acres placed under a conservation easement. Conservation easements remove the land’s development rights and require the landowner, current and future, to protect the land for greenways, water quality, habitat, and wildlife protection in perpetuity.

The Environmentally Sensitive Lands Oversight Committee (ESLOC) advises the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners on land nominations, acquisition, management, prioritization, and use of environmentally sensitive lands throughout the county.

Learn more about the ESLPP by visiting scgov.net or call 311.