County, SWFWMD seek solution for Pine Island

EAST COUNTY — Carol and Rick Ohlendorf stand on the dock at the State Road 64 boat ramp and point toward a scenic view of the Braden River.

On the horizon, an island sits amidst the water. It's Pine Island, a 66-acre preserve owned by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) but maintained by Manatee County. And its future may be in limbo.

SWFWMD has proposed to deem the property as “surplus,” although the agency's governing board has since removed it from the surplus list to engage in talks with Manatee. The surplus designation means it could be sold to another entity, although even if purchased at a public sale, it would retain its protection as conservation land.

Environmental conservationists like the Ohlendorfs, who live on an acre in the Panther Ridge community, don’t want to see the property sold to developers and remain convinced the property still needs protection.

“There’s a lot of wildlife here,” Carol Ohlendorf said. “It’s a bird sanctuary. It’s about time they stop development. It’s a beautiful island. People should be able to enjoy it in the future.”

Ken Frink, division director of operations, lands and resource monitoring for SWFWMD, agrees.

He said last year, the organization’s governing board asked staff to look at lands it owned that were not environmentally sensitive or were more appropriate for someone else to maintain, to review lands from a water management perspective, as well as for efficiencies. In May, staff told its governing board Pine Island Preserve was no longer needed for conservation purposes or other purposes of the district, hence the “surplus” designation. Frink said the term is misleading.

“Pine Island is extremely environmentally sensitive; it needs to be preserved,” he said. “But it’s an odd duck for us. It’s very remote for us. It’s not a regional project. It needs to be owned and managed locally.”

So what happens next?

Frink said SWFWMD can sell the property but maintain conservation easements over the property; or it could convey it to another governing body, such as Manatee County. 

SWFWMD began gathering public input on the proposal in March,  prompting an outpouring of public comments supporting conservation of the island. At that time, Manatee County voted to reject the “surplus” designation and Commission Chairwoman TK followed up with a letter to SWFWMD’s governing board requesting the agency continue to own the property and have Manatee maintain it.

“As reported by Parks and Natural Resources Department staff who have been managing Pine Island over the past 12 years, Manatee County has made steady and significant progress in removing non-native plant species using staff, inmate and contract labor,” she wrote. “As the island has frequently been a site for nesting American bald eagles, the county partnered with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in 2014 to receive Bald Eagle Habitat Mitigation Funds to continue exotic removal efforts specifically on Pine Island to protect eagle habitat.”

"There's a lot of wildlife here. It's a bird sanctuary. It's about time they stop development. It's a beautiful island. People should be able to enjoy it in the future." — Carol Ohlendorf

SWFWMD’s governing board has pulled the island off the surplus list, at least for now, and asked staff to work with Manatee County for a solution first. A meeting was scheduled for July 15, after the East County Observer went to press.

A land swap could be an option, as well, but there does not appear to be an equitable exchange. 

The Environmental Advisory Committee recommended conveying the property to Manatee or to the Audubon Coastal Island Sanctuaries Program.

SWFWMD’s board will discuss options at its August meeting. 

The board could convey the land to Manatee County, but may choose not to do so. Or, if Manatee County doesn’t want to assume title for the property, SWFWMD would ask the state if it would assume ownership, Frink said.

“If that fails, then it would go to public sale, but a conservation easement would be over it so it wouldn’t be developed,” he said. “We hope it doesn’t get to that. It needs to be conserved.”

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].