Manatee buys 13 acres to complete its ownership of a Braden River island

George Graham Jr.’s family bought about 6,000 acres in Manatee County 114 years ago, and he just sold the remaining 13 acres to Manatee County for preservation. 

The 13 acres include the northern tip of Pine Island, which is near the mouth of the Braden River, and a few surrounding mangrove islands. 

Director of Natural Resources Charlie Hunsicker said the parcel boundary is rectangular. The water within the rectangle is owned by the state, and everything above the “mean high water line" is privately owned, so it can be bought and sold. 

Graham noted that if the purchase included submerged land, the total acreage would be about 78 acres versus 13 acres.

Graham agreed to a purchase price of $41,500. The Environmental Lands Management and Acquisition Committee recommended the purchase to commissioners May 20, and the measure was approved unanimously with Commission Tal Siddique absent. 

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The property will be paid for using the Conservation and Parks Projects Referendum bond fund, which dates back to 2020 when 71% of voters agreed to a 0.15 millage ad valorem tax and the issuance of up to $50 million in bonds so the county could have a dedicated fund to purchase conservation land.  

Graham is 83 years old now. He hasn’t visited Pine Island in about 50 years. His pioneering family moved out of Manatee County after World War II. 

He grew up in Miami and lives outside of Orlando now. Graham was hanging onto the land only because it was akin to a family heirloom, so a few years ago, he told Manatee County staff members he’d be willing to sell. 

“Ecologically, it’s something the county wants to preserve,” Graham said. “They owned the rest of the island, so it just made a lot of sense.” 

The island’s past

With Graham’s permission, the county was already maintaining the entirety of the island because it contributed to the original purchase of the other 66 acres in 2003.  

The first purchase was a partnership between the Southwest Florida Water Management District, the city of Bradenton and Manatee County. SFWMD held the deed after having made the largest contribution of $450,000, which it received from the state’s Florida Forever fund. 

Manatee County and the city of Bradenton each contributed $150,000, and the county signed a 30-year management agreement to maintain the 66 acres. 

According to Susanna Martinez Tarokh, the SFWMD’s public information officer, the governing board in 2015 directed staff to negotiate surplus options for the original Pine Island tract. 

The district attempted to negotiate a land swap with the county, but Manatee County didn’t have any properties that met the district’s criteria for a swap of “similar value.”

Private buyers were not an option at that point either. The island was purchased in 2003 because a developer wanted to put homes on it. Residents and government agencies all agreed that conservation was the better option. 

In 2017, SFWMD signed a quit claim deed to transfer the property to the county with one caveat: If the island is sold or transferred and is no longer available for public use, the county has to reimburse the district for its financial contribution of $450,000. Tarokh said the transaction benefited SFWMD by reducing its landholding acreage, administrative costs and management liability. 

The island’s future

Moving forward, the entirety of Pine Island will be open to the public. 

The island is only accessible from the water, but a kayak can easily paddle there and back. There are two small landing areas for boats on the island, which is under a mile away from the State Road 64 boat ramp. 

Exploring is permitted “during daylight hours at their own risk,” said Mike Elswick, a Natural Resources division manager for Manatee County. A set of service trails cut through the brush and pine trees, but the trails are not regularly maintained. 

Now that the county owns the whole island, Elswick noted the opportunity for improved public access, but there would have to be a demonstrated demand for it before the county would increase its current level of service.

The island is and will continue to be maintained at the most basic level — prescribed burns, invasive plant control and trash removal.

County staff members visit the island no more than four times a year and they plan to stick with that routine to keep the Brazilian pepper trees at bay. 

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The minimally maintained island sits about a quarter mile away from the Dot Dash Dit Critical Wildlife Area, a bird rookery that’s home to Tampa Bay’s only coastal colony of wood storks. 

Wood storks are a federally listed species, which means they are protected under the Endangered Species Act. They were listed as “endangered” in 1984 and downgraded to “threatened” in 2014. 

The National Park Service reports that the quality and quantity of the specific environment a wood stork requires “directly determines the wellbeing and the number of that species.”  

Dot Dash Dit consists of three small mangrove islands that total about five acres. Roseate spoonbills, great egrets and great blue herons are among the other birds that nest there. 

Preserving Pine Island in its entirety contributes to their protection.

“As a Manatee County preserve, the area will be maintained as a natural habitat to optimize its ecosystem functions,” said Debra Woithe, Environmental Lands Program manager. “In private ownership, mangroves could be trimmed for other uses and the impact could reduce the growth of the mangroves.” 

Growth is essential to supporting the birds and marine life. The mangroves stabilize the soil, reduce nutrients and filter sediments in the river, which improves the water quality. Wading birds use the mangrove swamp and salt marsh areas to forage.  

The island is also home to an active bald eagles’ nest, a pair of great horned owls and a few gopher tortoises. Non-native feral hogs have also been spotted on occasion. 

Owning the entire island is also just easier for Manatee County's staff members. They no longer have to request access from Graham when conducting prescribed burns, and they don’t have to worry about the public wandering onto private property. 

Woithe told commissioners the purchase will help manage the resource.