The seven-day, six-night reenactment offered 350 people on horseback the chance to push 500 head of cattle through 80 contiguous miles of Florida that few people ever get to see.
The newly conserved land is adjacent to the existing 363-acre Myakka Headwaters Preserve—conserved in October 2020—where seven streams converge to create the Myakka River.
The property is a birding hotspot, and a portion of the land is part of the largest floodplain marsh in the Myakka River basin, called Tatum Sawgrass Marsh.
If voters approve a new measure this fall, the county could acquire land to protect water quality and fish and wildlife habitat, preserve environmentally sensitive land and create public parks.