Lake Manatee State Park land won't be sold

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection removed a 19.4 acre parcel of land at Lake Manatee State Park from a preliminary list of property for the state to sell as surplus.

State environmental officials had considering selling the land at  Lake Manatee State Park as part of a program to buy property deemed to have greater conservation value. 

The list includes more than 5,300 acres of land in Florida the state will potentially sell.

Some property on the list generated objections from the public when the DEP held a workshop and webinars on the subject. 

Manatee County has said the public does not use the 19.4 parcel of land at Lake Manatee State Park — a strip along the far western border on the west side of Dam Road.

The surplus lands list is part of the state’s Florida Forever land-buying program, backed by Gov. Rick Scott.

For the program, lawmakers agreed to put up $20 million in state funding in the new budget and allowed the DEP to generate an additional $50 million through the sale of state-owned land deemed no longer critical to the state’s conservation efforts.

The $70 million will then be used to buy conservation considered more critical to preserve. 

The DEP will have a more refined list by October or November. Land at Lake Manatee State Park won't be on it. 

Contact Josh Siegel at [email protected].