Over 1,400 acres of Manatee County land are set to be protected from development after county leaders agreed to contribute $2 million for their conservation.
Manatee County Government is partnering with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) to buy conservation easements on 438 acres of Mossy Island Ranch and 1,045 acres of Thundercloud Ranch, two privately held ranches in East Manatee.
In a conservation easement, a landowner voluntarily sells a property’s development rights. Going forward, current and future landowners may continue to use the land for agriculture, but large-scale development is permanently prohibited.
State officials identified both ranches as high priority for conservation based on their agricultural and environmental value and proximity to other conserved lands, as well as high development pressure in the Manatee-Sarasota area.
The deal was in danger of stalling after the county attorney’s office found legal issues with a plan to use money from Manatee’s voter-approved conservation tax for the purchases. But county staff got creative and found an alternate source of funding.
Commissioners voted unanimously to sign a letter of agreement for both conservation purchases.
Natural Resources Director Charlie Hunsicker said easements add something different to the county’s collection of conserved lands by protecting the area’s agricultural “heritage and value.”
“Easements are exactly the tool we can utilize to assure perpetual agricultural economy in Manatee County,” Hunsicker said.
How much will Florida, Manatee County pay for easements?
The county reached a deal with the state to split the estimated cost of the easements.
The county’s contribution is capped at $500,000 for Mossy Island Ranch in Myakka City and $1.5 million for Thundercloud Ranch in Parrish, according to county records. Manatee County’s contribution will be covered by reserve funds allocated to the Environmental Lands Program, county staff said.
The state will pay the remaining amount, estimated at $1 million for Mossy Island Ranch and $2.1 million for Thundercloud Ranch, plus closing costs. The state’s contribution will come from FDACS’ Rural and Family Lands Program, an initiative funded by the Florida Legislature to protect lands for continued agriculture use and conservation.
Why were Manatee County lands chosen for conservation?
In 2025, Florida officials ranked the conservation value of 428 properties that applied for easements statewide. Mossy Island Ranch ranked 48th and Thundercloud Ranch ranked 54th, state records show.
Mossy Island Ranch borders Myakka River State Park, one of the largest conserved areas in the region. County officials say that preserving the ranch will ensure a permanent natural buffer around the state park as development encroaches on the area. The property also has statewide significance.
“It is a very valuable piece of property for the Florida Wildlife Corridor, and very important to protect,” said Environmental Lands Program Manager Kara Koenig. Koenig recently replaced Debra Woithe, who had served in the role since 2021.
The Florida Wildlife Corridor is a statewide undertaking to conserve about 18 million acres of natural lands for wildlife, water quality and recreation. County officials say Mossy Island Ranch supports habitat for protected species like the Florida panther, Florida black bear, eastern indigo snake, woodstork, sandhill crane and crested caracara.
Over 80% of the ranch is pastureland used to raise cattle and produce sod and hay, according to the county. The rest of the property contains a mix of woods, freshwater marshes, wet prairies and swamp.
Thundercloud Ranch is also identified as a target property for addition to the Florida Wildlife Corridor. Locally, it will keep a large swath of natural lands in place adjacent to several county and state preserves, including a link between Edward W. Chance Reserve and South Fork State Park.
“This property really helps to connect existing preserved areas,” Koenig said.
The area is home to one of the healthiest populations of endangered Florida scrub jays in the state, as well as Gilley Creek, a main tributary of the Manatee River that helps sustain Manatee County’s drinking water supply.
Manatee County adds easements to conservation program
Until now, the county’s Environmental Lands Program has focused on buying land for creating or expanding public parks and preserves.
But commissioners and county staff say that adding easements into the mix will help the county conserve more land faster while cutting down on the maintenance costs that come with operating parks.
In general, easements are significantly cheaper than buying land outright.
“We’re getting these properties at one-tenth the cost of fee simple ownership,” Hunsicker said.
For instance, the county paid $11.2 million to purchase 68 acres for Crooked River Preserve, or over $164,000 per acre. About half of the purchase was later reimbursed through grant funds. By comparison, the Thundercloud Ranch easement will cost the county about $1,435 per acre.
Statewide, easements have become a popular tool for conservation programs to add acres to Florida’s bank of protected lands. As large, pristine swaths of wilderness typically sought after for parks and preserves become increasingly rare, easements are another way to keep land in an undeveloped state.
“Private ranchlands are very important to protecting the wildlife corridor,” Koenig said.
When properly managed, agricultural lands can offer some of the same benefits as wild lands, research shows, including water quality protection, flood control, wildlife habitat, heat island reduction and storage of climate change-causing carbon.
However, the Florida Legislature’s recent moves to defund traditional land conservation in favor of agricultural easements have drawn criticism from some environmental experts, who say that farmland should not be prioritized over protecting wilderness.
Another common critique of agricultural easements is that the lands remain privately owned, prohibiting public access.
Why didn’t Manatee use referendum funds to buy easements?
Staff with the county’s Environmental Land Program originally planned to pay for the easements with funds from the referendum approved by voters in 2020. The county has used the tax fund to make several conservation purchases, including Crooked River Preserve in Parrish and the expansion of Emerson Point Preserve in Palmetto.
But the county attorney’s office found two problems with the plan. County Attorney Pamela D’Agostino said the language approved by voters does not explicitly allow the tax funds to be used for agricultural land, or for purchases where the county is only a part-owner or beneficiary of a property or easement.
To prevent the deal from falling through, county staff identified available funding in reserves.
D’Agostino said the county could ask voters to amend the referendum to allow for agricultural easements and ownership-sharing agreements. If voters approved, the county would be OK to use referendum dollars for such purchases, and could also refund its reserves with tax money, D’Agostino said.
What happens next?
Now that Manatee County commissioners have agreed to contribute to the easements, state officials will finalize the purchases. County leaders will approve releasing the funds at a future date.
Koenig said the Environmental Lands Program will look for similar opportunities to partner with the state on conservation.
Several commissioners shared their support for more easements.
“I would just encourage anyone who is a larger landholder in Manatee County and who appreciates that way of life and wants it to continue … this is a great way to protect that property for the future and still continue to own it and use it in the way that you want,” Commissioner Amanda Ballard said.
“I know when our voters voted to increase their own taxes, this is what they envisioned,” Commissioner Carol Ann Felts said at the time. “It’s nice to have small parks and small amenities, but we were really looking … to protect large, invaluable lands. Our farmers and ranchers are needing all the help they can get to hold onto their culture (and) our food sources.
“It’s absolutely a piece of Florida that few people get to see anymore,“ Felts added.
