Sarasota County Okays Land Deal to Create Conservation Area

A plan to preserve two large ranches in east Sarasota County and create a expansive conservation area stretching across 106,000 acres received unanimous support from the Sarasota County Commission Wednesday. The ranches are considered a critical link between large conservation areas like Myakka River State Park and the Carlton Preserve to the west and R.V. Griffin Reserve to the east.

Commissioners voted to move forward with purchasing the 3,808-acre Walton ranch and signaled they will do the same when the 3,890-acre Longino ranch comes before them on April 27.
The Walton land is priced at $23.5 million, with $10.7 million coming from the county and the rest coming from the state. Sarasota County will own the Walton land outright as opposed to the Longino deal, where the county and the state plan to purchase a conservation easement for $14.6 million, with $1.5 million of that coming from the county.