OSPREY, FL (March 16, 2018) In the nick of time, Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast has raised over $1 million so far in the race to save Braden River Preserve in Manatee County from immediate development.
The Manatee County Commission will decide on March 20th whether to tax neighborhoods to create the preserve. Conservation Foundation now brings $1 million in donations to help defray the cost.
“Ten days ago the Manatee County Board of Commissioners asked Conservation Foundation to help, and the community rallied quickly and decisively. The breadth and depth of the pledges are amazing,” notes Christine Johnson, president of Conservation Foundation. “We are proud to help and humbled by the outpouring of support. This is a rare opportunity for a community to save land from development. We hope the commissioners accept the community’s generous gift.”
Make your pledge now at www.conservationfoundation.com 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 and prevent flooding, and 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 45 acres. Conservation Foundation will hold and enforce a perpetual conservation easement (permanent deed restrictions) that will ensure that all 45 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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