SARASOTA — There are environmental protections on more than 126,000 acres of Sarasota County.
That’s 34% of all the land in the county.
Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Director Nicole Rissler spoke about that to the Sarasota County Commission recently.
The county has put environmental protections on more than 1,000 acres of land over the past two years and will be adding more, she said.
Between property the county has bought under its Environmentally Sensitive Lands Protection, and Neighborhood Parkland Acquisition programs, and land on which it has acquired a conservation easement, 77,366.48 acres are protected.
Counting land owned by the state, the municipalities, the School Board and West Coast Inland Navigation District and private entities, the total is 126,700.55 acres, she said.
The programs are mainly funded by a 0.25 mill property tax first approved by voters in 1999 and extended in 2005. The tax expires in 2029 but is expected to be on the 2026 ballot for renewal, she said.