Guest Opinion: Protect Lands and Protect the Public Trust

In a fast-growing county like Manatee, some decisions can be revisited years later. Others cannot.

When a wetland is filled, when a wildlife corridor is fragmented, or when a working ranch becomes a subdivision, those lands are effectively lost forever. Future generations cannot recover opportunities that today's citizens allow to disappear. That is why the Environmental Lands Program was created and why voters approved a dedicated funding source to protect the natural resources that sustain our community. This November, Manatee County voters will once again be asked to decide whether to invest in the protection of our drinking water, wildlife habitat, wetlands, agricultural lands, and natural open spaces.

The League of Women Voters has long supported responsible environmental stewardship and policies that preserve the natural resources that sustain our community. We continue to believe that protecting environmentally sensitive lands is one of the wisest investments a growing county can make. For that reason, we support the goals of the proposed Environmental Lands referendum.

At the same time, the League's mission extends beyond any single public policy issue. We are also advocates for good government, transparency, accountability, and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Those principles require us to address the findings of the recent Manatee County Inspector General audit of the Environmental Lands Program directly and honestly.

The audit found that the land acquisition program functions as voters intended. Properties were acquired, required approvals were obtained, and conservation goals were pursued. However, the audit also found substantial concerns regarding payroll allocations, operating expenses, fund management, and the commingling of millage and non-millage expenditures within the same fund. The auditors concluded that significant expenditures charged to the Environmental Lands Fund were not directly attributable to newly acquired Environmental Lands Program properties.

The League does not view these findings as a reason to abandon conservation. Rather, we view them as a reason to demand stronger oversight. Protecting our natural lands and protecting public trust are not competing values. They are inseparable.

The public has every right to ask difficult questions:

• Why were these spending practices allowed to continue for multiple years
• Why were concerns about payroll allocations and operating costs not corrected earlier?
• What safeguards will prevent similar issues from occurring in the future?

These questions deserve complete answers. Fortunately, the audit also provides a roadmap for improvement. County management has committed to a number of corrective actions, including:

• Separating millage and non-millage expenditures into different funds.
• Correcting improper payroll allocations.
• Reviewing payroll distributions annually.
• Reassessing indirect cost allocations.
• Increasing clarity in financial reporting.
• Reimbursing Environmental Lands funds for expenditures determined to be outside the program's intended scope.

The League expects these commitments to be fully implemented and publicly monitored.

We also call upon the Environmental Lands Management and Acquisition Committee (ELMAC), county staff, and county commissioners to regularly report on their progress. Corrective actions should be documented, verified, and visible to the public.

The choice before voters is not whether we value conservation or accountability. We need both.

Our county faces relentless development pressure. As population growth continues, opportunities to preserve water resources, wildlife habitat, agricultural lands, and strategic conservation corridors become more limited and more expensive. If we fail to act now, many of these opportunities will be lost forever.

We can preserve our land and protect the public trust. In fact, we must do both. For these reasons, the League of Women Voters supports passage of the 2026 Environmental Lands Referendum – Protect Water, Preserve Land.