Mangroves Before Money

On June 3rd, the Sarasota County Commission discussed surplusing and vacating their 190 acres of mangrove-covered conservation land. This land was generously donated by the Hardie family in 1998 with the clear intent that it be protected forever for environmental conservation.

Approving its vacation or rezoning would not only dishonor that commitment but also threaten the health of the Lemon Bay ecosystem. Mangroves:

provide habitat for sea birds, manatees and various endangered species
function as a nursery for native fish species
sequester carbon from the atmosphere
help clean the water by filtering and absorbing excess nutrients from runoff
protect the ...

On June 3rd, the Sarasota County Commission discussed surplusing and vacating their 190 acres of mangrove-covered conservation land. This land was generously donated by the Hardie family in 1998 with the clear intent that it be protected forever for environmental conservation.

Approving its vacation or rezoning would not only dishonor that commitment but also threaten the health of the Lemon Bay ecosystem. Mangroves:

provide habitat for sea birds, manatees and various endangered species
function as a nursery for native fish species
sequester carbon from the atmosphere
help clean the water by filtering and absorbing excess nutrients from runoff
protect the shoreline decreasing the risk of damage from storm surge, flooding, and wind damage during severe storms

Encourage the commissioners to choose mangroves over money!

Use your voice NOW to protect our mangroves before it's too late! Email Sarasota County Commissioners and urge them to uphold their responsibility to preserve this land for future generations.

+

Mangroves Before Money

Encourage the Commissioners to choose mangroves over money. We, the residents of Sarasota County, need mangroves. They are essential to our way of life here and the Hardie Family who gifted this land to Sarasota County knew that. Email County Commissioners and urge them to uphold their commitment to conservation and the long-term health of Sarasota County.

Where do you live?

Compose your email

Name

Email

Subject:

Dear Commissioners,

I am writing as a concerned resident of Sarasota County to strongly urge you to uphold your commitment to the overall well-being of our aquatic ecosystems and all of us who rely on them. Please don’t give up our conservation land; maintain the current zoning as Open Use Conservation and the Public Right-of-Way for the 190 acres of mangrove-covered land along Lemon Bay.

The 50 homeowners with properties adjacent to Bay Shore Drive have never owned the land bordering the open waters of Lemon Bay. When they purchased their properties, they understood that their ownership rights ended east of the mean high water line. All were fully aware of their property boundaries at the time of purchase. They have no riparian rights to “restore”.

The land in question has been County-owned conservation land since it was gifted by the Hardie Family in 1998. It was given so that it would be preserved in perpetuity for conservation. Vacating the Right-of-Way along Bay Shore Road and/or rezoning the area would not only disregard the family’s intentions, but it would also go against the goals and objectives of the County’s Comprehensive Plan, and put the Lemon Bay Aquatic Preserve and surrounding ecosystems at risk of permanent damage.

Mangroves are essential to our environment and community. They support local wildlife—including fish, birds, manatees, and endangered species—while also filtering water, capturing carbon, and shielding our shorelines from flooding, storm surge, and erosion. In a county increasingly pressured by development, we cannot afford to lose or reduce the integrity of these vital coastal ecosystems. Maintaining ownership of these lands is aligned with the Comprehensive Plan, specifically Park Policies 1.1.12, 1.1.3, 1.1.7, and Environment Policies 1.3.9, 4.4.3, and 4.6.2.

Sarasota County has already lost thousands of acres of mangroves. Reducing the current level of protection for the few sensitive lands that remain would be nothing short of a failure of responsibility to the people of Sarasota County. Such a decision would mean giving away public land for private gain, directly violating the goals and objectives of our Comprehensive Plan, and jeopardizing the health of the already fragile Lemon Bay ecosystem.

Please uphold your commitment to conservation and the long-term health of Sarasota County.

How we use the data you enter on this form

Do Gooder (the advocacy platform powering this online action) processes personal information from you that you enter on this form so that we can provide the functions and related services to you and The Campaigner (the organisation responsible for this online action) for their legitimate purposes, including possibly exporting it to other systems, and to effectively respond to enquiries and communications related to those services.

Specifically when you enter:

Your location data (residential address or postcode) it is used to locate your elected representative, to pre-populate your email signature and to provide The Campaigner with a visualisation of the location of the support for this campaign.
All other data you may enter, including your email address, name, telephone number, commentary and so on is used by The Campaigner to advocate for the campaign’s goals and where required may be sent to the target of the campaign.

The data collected by Do Gooder is also used by us in aggregate form to improve the service and may be held on your behalf outside your country of residence by our third party service providers. These providers are bound by contract to only use personal information on our behalf, in accordance with agreed terms. While the privacy laws of the country in which personal information is stored or transferred may be different from those in your country, we will always have safeguards in place when storing or transferring personal information. We will never sell, rent, loan or in any other way pass your information on to other parties other than to provide this service to you and The Campaigner.

The personal information collected by Do Gooder is held subject to a Data Processing Agreement between Do Gooder and The Campaigner in compliance with the EU's GDPR and Australian law.

Learn more about our privacy policy here

How is my data used?