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The 443-acre site includes more than four miles along the Myakka River to the north of Border Road, with extensive hammock, pine flatwoods and pasturelands.

Importance
This site contains extensive quality hammock, pine flatwoods and riverine habitats critical in buffering the river’s shoreline and creating a protected corridor along the Myakka River.

Status
The county acquired a 61-acre parcel bounded by the T. Mabry Carlton, Jr. Memorial Reserve on the north and east and the Myakka River on the west on June 12, 2007.

Four parcels have now been acquired in the site, protecting a total of 188 acres.

Three site parcels are part of the Florida Communities Trust (FCT) Sleeping Turtles grant project. The county was reimbursed $1,985,684.00 in October 2006 for this FCT project.

The largest tract in the site, the 190-acre portion of Henry Ranch, was annexed into the city of Venice in 2001. As part of the Venetian Golf and River Club development process, the city of Venice acquired ten acres to provide a riverside park that will provide a buffer along a portion of the Myakka River. This project was recently awarded a $400,000 Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program to fund future amenities.