County Will Buy Two Land Tracts

BARTOW | Plans to assemble a corridor of conservation lands along U.S. 27 west of Crooked Lake advanced Wednesday when county commissioners agreed to purchase two more tracts.

Commissioners agreed to buy the 77.3-acre Britt property and the 996-acre Atgar Development site. The total purchase price for the two parcels is $2.3 million.

The Britt property will be purchased jointly with the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The Atgar property, which consists of two parcels, will be purchased without a partner.

The move comes following a joint purchase of the 3,590-acre Stuart tract in cooperation with Swiftmud in March for $7.4 million. Commissioners had previously approved the purchase of the 1,148-acre Dunham site to the south as a gopher tortoise mitigation site. Polk contributed $750,000 toward the $12.4 million state purchase. Gov. Charlie Crist and the Florida Cabinet approved the purchase in March.

These tracts, known collectively as Crooked Lake West, are part of a targeted 11,444-acre area that is part of the Lake Wales Ridge acquisition projects. Many parts of these tracts are considered "biological hot spots" - they contain an unusually high concentration of rare and endangered plants and animals.

The Dunham tract will be managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The other properties will be managed by the Polk County Environmental Lands Program. Plans are to allow public access for passive recreation.

[ Tom Palmer can be reached at tom.palmer@theledger.com or 863-802-7535. ]