58 acres protected in Manatee County

A 58-acre parcel in Manatee County will be conserved thanks to a new conservation easement, which officials say will help safeguard water quality in the Braden River.

The newly conserved land is located near Gap Creek, according to the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast, which acquired the conservation easement from Manatee County landowner Bunny Garst. 

It marks the second time Garst worked with the organization in a conservation effort; in 2021, she donated a 14-acre conservation easement on an adjacent parcel in honor of her late husband, Judge Claflin Garst Jr., which was sold following the protection to adjoining landowners James and Mary Parks for limited agricultural use, including grazing, for a working farm.