Ryan Nicol
The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is pushing for a pair of option agreements to purchase land in the Myakka Ranchlands under the Florida Forever program.
Those proposals were part of a trio of land purchases put forward Wednesday at a meeting of the state’s cabinet aides.
Rene Lewis, the Director of DEP’s Office of Cabinet Affairs, outlined the proposals at the morning meeting.
One option agreement would cover a 559-acre conservation easement in the Myakka Ranchlands, located inside Manatee County. The easement would be purchased from the Pallardy Ranch Land Trust for just over $1.6 million.
If acquired, the land will be monitored by DEP’s Office of Environmental Services, Lewis said.
The second Myakka Ranchlands purchase proposal would cover a 5,777-acre parcel currently owned by Orange Hammock Ranch. The price is $21 million.
The purchase would be made in partnership with a private conservation group. Should the proposal be finalized as-is, the state would be responsible for 91% of the cost, about $19.1 million.
The land — to be dubbed the Orange Hammock Wildlife Management Area — would be managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission if acquired by the state.
Those proposals were the two largest put forward by Lewis Wednesday. She also highlighted a third potential option agreement, covering 17 acres within Florida Forever’s Strategic Managed Area Lands List for $740,000. It would be managed by DEP’s Division of Recreation and Parks as an addition to River Rise Preserve State Park.
Florida Forever is the state’s land acquisition program. According to DEP, more than 2.5 million acres have been purchased under Florida Forever and its predecessor, Preservation 2000.
Earlier this month, Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state reached an option agreement to acquire a portion of the Everglades that had been slated for oil production. Officials said that purchase my utilize Florida Forever funds, though the South Florida Water Management District may also contribute to the financing.
