Florida Cabinet approves ‘critical’ conservation easement in Southwest Florida

Construction is underway for Tallahassee’s new Water Quality Laboratory.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet have OK’d a new conservation easement covering more than 1,500 acres at 4L’s Ranch in Southwest Florida.

The easement is within the Myakka Ranchlands Florida Forever Project and aims to protect the water quality in the Myakka River and Peace River watersheds. The easement blocks any future development on the land but allows agricultural activity to continue.

The property covered by the easement extends over Manatee, Sarasota, DeSoto and Charlotte counties.

“The Myakka Ranchlands Florida Forever Project is in a region rich in biodiversity and cultural heritage, and one that is rapidly disappearing,” said Julie Morris, Director of the Florida Conservation Group (FCG), in response to the easement approval.

“The properties in this project are critical to the health of the watershed, the Myakka River State Park and drinking water downstream. In addition, land conservation in this area is critical for preventing floodwaters from impacting downstream communities, including North Port and the rest of the northern Charlotte Harbor region.”

The release added that the Charlotte Harbor estuary is “one of the most important recreational fisheries in the state.”

4L’s Ranch is a cow-calf operation and the land is home to several threatened species in Florida. Those species include “the Florida sandhill crane, crested caracara, gopher tortoise, Florida burrowing owl and Southeastern American kestrel,” according to FCG. The Eastern indigo snake, Florida black bear and Florida panther can also use the habitat there.

On Tuesday, the Cabinet also approved two additional conservation easements. One easement covers over 1,400 acres within the Caloosahatchee Ecoscape Florida Forever Project. Another will protect around 2,000 acres within the Syfrett Ranch Project of the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program.

The state has made an effort to approve several significant easements in recent years to protect the state’s environmental quality.