OSPREY, FL (March 9, 2018) Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast is mounting a campaign to raise at least $1 million to save Braden River Preserve in Manatee County from development, and they are well on their way towards their goal. Leading the charge, The Floyd C. Johnson and Flo Singer Johnson Foundation pledged a $500,000 challenge grant. Within two days, Conservation Foundation has secured pledges totaling nearly $700,000 to permanently protect 34 acres of natural habitat located on the Braden River.
Time is of the essence. The Manatee County Commission will decide on March 20th whether to tax neighborhoods to purchase the land. Conservation Foundation hopes to bring at least $1 million in donations to help defray the cost.
“This is a rare opportunity to save 34 acres of old Florida on the Braden River from development.” notes Christine Johnson, president of Conservation Foundation. “We are asking for community support now to raise at least a million dollars to defray taxpayers’ expense. It’s not very often that citizens have the chance to save significant land from development.”
Make your pledge now at www.conservationfoundation.com/bradenriver or contact Andria Piekarz at andria@conservationfoundation.com.
Located on the Braden River east of I-75, the 34-acre oasis of nature is home to an amazing diversity of plants and animals not normally seen in similar suburban areas, with mature live oaks, tall longleaf pines, important wetlands that store water preventing flooding, imperiled swallowtail kites and gopher tortoise. The land’s riverfront and floodplain forests are part of a corridor linking natural habitat along the Braden River, which supplies drinking water for the City of Bradenton.
Since 2001, the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) recommended that every piece of natural land remaining along the Braden River be conserved to protect valuable drinking water and to protect the diverse habitats and species which are the natural systems humans depend upon.
If this property which is now slated for development is acquired, Conservation Foundation will donate the adjoining 11.6 acres to the preserve, making it a total of 44 acres. Conservation Foundation will hold and enforce a perpetual conservation easement (permanent deed restrictions) that will ensure that all 44 acres remain a low-impact preserve forever, open to the public for walking, hiking or birdwatching.
About Conservation Foundation
Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast saves land, forever, protecting those special natural lands that make this region extraordinary. Working with landowners, businesses, and government, Conservation Foundation protects the character and natural integrity of the bays, beaches, barrier islands and their watersheds on Florida’s Gulf Coast. A nationally accredited land trust, the Foundation purchases natural areas, holds land conservation agreements and educates for responsible land and water stewardship in Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte and Lee Counties. Learn more at www.conservationfoundation.com.
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