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…