The Palmetto Estuary Preserve was Ecosphere’s first major habitat restoration project and demonstrated the power of public–private partnerships to protect and restore coastal ecosystems. The project preserved and restored approximately 26 acres of coastal habitat along the northern shore of the Manatee River near the U.S. 301/41 causeway.

Ecosphere founder Thomas Ries helped broker a partnership between a private developer, the City of Palmetto, and regional water managers to secure the site for conservation and restoration. Ries worked with the City to obtain grant funding to purchase the property, persuaded the private landowner to fund restoration design and site preparation, and coordinated with the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) to implement construction using its SWIM restoration program.

The project restored 12 acres of estuarine habitat, enhanced 4 acres of upland habitat, and permanently preserved 14 acres of existing wetlands, creating productive fisheries habitat and improving water quality through passive stormwater treatment. The restoration effort also included one of the region’s largest volunteer planting events, where more than 200 volunteers installed approximately 23,000 native plants in a single day.

Completed in 2001, the Palmetto Estuary Preserve became the first public–private habitat restoration partnership in the Tampa Bay region. The project received the Environmental Project of the Year Award from the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council in 2002, recognizing its innovative collaboration and successful ecological restoration.