Manatee County commissioners approved conservation easements Sept. 22 that permanently protect nearly 1,500 acres of working ranchland, wetlands and wildlife habitat in Parrish and Myakka City.

The two properties, Thundercloud Ranch and Mossy Island Ranch, will stay privately owned and continue operating as working ranches. The deal totals $15.68 million. The county's share is capped at $2 million, with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services covering the rest through its Rural and Family Lands Protection Program.

Thundercloud Ranch spans about 1,042 acres of cattle land, native woodlands, freshwater marshes and forested wetlands in Parrish. It connects the Edward W. Chance Reserve's Gilley Creek Tract to South Fork State Park, according to Tampa Bay Beacons.

Mossy Island Ranch covers 420 acres in Myakka City. It borders Myakka River State Park and sits within the Florida Wildlife Corridor and the Myakka River Watershed.

State partnership stretches county conservation dollars

Commissioner George Kruse said the partnership stretches the conservation dollars voters entrusted to the county. "We're protecting a significant amount of rural Manatee County while keeping these properties in private ownership, in agricultural production and on the tax rolls," Kruse said.

Charlie Hunsicker, the county's natural resources director, said the arrangement allows the county to double and sometimes triple the acreage it can protect compared with buying land outright. Hunsicker has worked for Manatee County since 1977.

County staff and state agriculture officials are now finalizing closing documents. The deal is expected to close in October. The department will record the easements and handle ongoing monitoring and enforcement.

Voters to decide $75 million land bond Nov. 3

The easements are part of a broader land-preservation push in Manatee County. Since 2023, the county's Environmental Lands Program has acquired more than 300 acres, established two new preserves and expanded four existing preserves, according to a county news release.

Voters will weigh in on the program's future Nov. 3, when a referendum asks whether to authorize up to $75 million in new bonds and a 0.16-mill property tax levy to buy and maintain conservation land. Commissioners voted 6-0 on July 28 to place the measure on the ballot. Kruse called it a program Manatee County residents support, as The Bradenton Journal reported at the time.

The Rural and Family Lands Protection Program, established in 2001, has preserved roughly 224,000 acres of working farmland statewide. The program received a record 500-plus applications in its most recent cycle, representing more than 600,000 acres, according to the department.