Three potential land conservation sites draw approval from Polk County committee

A committee gave approval Wednesday to move forward with Polk County’s potential acquisition of three properties for land conservation.

The three sites, all of them east of the Peace River, total 2,334 acres.

The Conservation Land Acquisition Selection Advisory Committee voted during Wednesday’s meeting to continue the process toward possible purchases.

The three properties are Bowlegs Creek Conservation Area near Fort Meade, Masterpiece Road near Lake Wales and the Florida FFA Agriculture and Natural Resources Center east of Waverly. Committee members voted for continued assessment of the sites after hearing a summary of field reports from its technical assessment group.

Polk's conservation lands program

Polk County voters decisively approved a referendum in 2022 for a designated property tax to fund a land-conservation program for 20 years. The measure imposed an ad valorem tax of 20 cents for each $1,000 of taxable property value.

The county established its Environmental Lands Program in 1994, when voters ratified a similar referendum. Before expiring in 2015, the tax generated about $84 million, money used to acquire more than 25,000 acres for conservation.

The previous purchases include Circle B Bar Reserve, a 1,267-acre property in Lakeland. A former cattle ranch restored to its naturally marshy state, the tract bordering Lake Hancock is now among the most popular birdwatching sites in Central Florida.

Polk County began receiving funds from the property tax in October, and officials have the authority to make acquisitions based on anticipated revenue. As specified in the referendum, the Polk County Commission appointed the 11-member advisory committee to assess potential properties and offer opinions. All sites must have willing sellers.

In November, CLASAC members recommended that the county proceed with the possible acquisition of five properties. The tract the committee rated highest, Creek Legacy Ranch near Port Hatchineha, has since been purchased by the state for conservation through the Florida Forever program.

Tabitha Biehl, Polk County’s Land and Water Natural Areas manager, narrated a visual report at Wednesday’s meeting on the three additional properties. She summarized the assessments from the technical assessment group, consisting of volunteers with expertise in conservation and land use.

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Group members produce scores for each property on five criteria: water resources, natural communities and landscape, plants and animals, human value and management. Scores are weighted toward the first three categories, and total scores can range from 20 to 118.

The group scored the Florida FFA site highest at 96, followed by Masterpiece Road at 89 and Bowlegs Creek at 88.

Bowlegs Creek

The Bowlegs Creek tract covers 1,025 acres southeast of Fort Meade, near Keller Road. The property encompasses part of the creek, which flows west into the Peace River.

Biehl said the parcel consists of private property surrounding state-owned land around the creek. The land contains wetlands and cypress domes, uplands being used for ranching and citrus groves and areas previously mined for phosphate.

The land was heavily flooded after Hurricane Ian, Biehl said, indicating that it has potential for water holding to reduce the risk of flooding in the area.

TAG members counted 52 bird species present in two hours. A pond serves as a stopover for migratory waterfowl, Biehl said, and TAG members documented such species as blue-winged teal, gadwall and American wigeon. In upland areas, the group saw such birds as Eastern meadowlarks and Eastern towhees.

The property sits within the Florida Wildlife Corridor, a ribbon of land stretching the length of the peninsula and deemed crucial for the survival of animals that require large areas to roam, primarily Florida panthers and Florida black bears. The area has been designated in the Florida Ecological Greenways Network, a state database, as a connector from the Peace River to the Lake Wales Ridge.

Committee member Chuck Hunt Jr. questioned why Polk County should buy the property when it already seems to be largely free from potential development. Though the tract is in a rural area, Biehl said that development pressure is increasing throughout the county.

Masterpiece Road

The Masterpiece Road property, northeast of Lake Wales, consists of multiple parcels with the same owner covering 1,195 acres east and west of the road, south of Timberlane Road near the shore of Lake Pierce.

The property contains a mix of sugar sand and yellow sand soils, Biehl said, noting that it is rare to find land with yellow soil in the area that has not been planted with citrus. The tract lies along the Lake Wales Ridge and features significant elevation changes.

The land holds a mix of habitats, including swamp, scrubby flatwoods, sandhill remnants and areas cleared for pasture, Biehl said. TAG members documented gopher tortoises and sand skinks and found 600 examples of Florida Ziziphus, an extremely shrub once thought to be extinct.

Florida FFA Agriculture and Natural Resources Center

The Florida FFA Agriculture and Natural Resources Center property covers 114 acres on the eastern shore of Lake Pierce. The narrow tract is largely bordered by Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek Preserve State Park and abuts the creek for about 1,000 feet.

The tract consists largely of mesic flatwoods and scrub, Biehl said, noting that “the natural communities are very well intact.” The site, near a training facility for firefighters, holds several cabins.

The property earned a composite score from TAG members of nine for human value, the maximum possible. Biehl said she did not recall another site earning that score before. That category assesses the potential for resource-based recreation and whether the site provides greenspace or a conservation corridor.

What's next?

The Polk County Division of Parks and Natural Resources will next prepare an agenda item for consideration by the County Commission. If commissioners vote to proceed, the division will order appraisals of the properties and engage with owners to discuss possible purchase prices, Parks and Natural Resources Director Gaye Sharpe said.

The County Commission would then have to approve any acquisitions.

All but one of the 11 members attended Wednesday’s meeting, chaired by Polk County Commissioner Rick Wilson. They included the committee’s newest member, Marian Ryan, a longtime advocate with the Sierra Club Ancient Islands Group, who has replaced Kerry Hammock. Ryan had been omitted from the committee’s initial appointments, despite serving on a previous version of the committee and helping lead the effort to pass the referendum.

Gary White can be reached at [email protected] or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Polk County committee approves 3 potential land conservation sites