Rural & Family Lands Protection Program

Recognizing working agricultural lands that are essential to Florida's economic future

Cattle in pasture.

The  Rural and Family Lands Protection Program  (RFLPP) is an agricultural land preservation program administered by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services that is designed to protect critical agricultural lands through the acquisition of permanent agricultural land conservation easements.

Created in 2001 with the passage of the Rural and Family Lands Protection Act, the program has successfully acquired conservation easements for over 110,000 acres of working agricultural land to date. The RFLPP recognizes that working agricultural lands are essential to Florida's economic future. Agricultural lands are being increasingly threatened by urban development. To counter this trend, the RFLPP coordinates with farmers and ranchers to ensure sustainable production practices while protecting natural resources.

“When you think about Rural and Family Lands, if you can buy development rights, you’re going to make sure that 50 years from now, 100 years from now, we can still farm in the state of Florida.” – Florida Commissioner of Agriculture, Wilton Simpson


Proposed Properties

These properties are among 244 projects under consideration for purchase of a perpetual rural land protection easement. These projects have been ranked in priority order for funding as part of the 2023-24 funding cycle.

ArcGIS Web Application


Projects for Consideration

The properties featured below under consideration for acquisition by the Board of Trustees. These properties are currently in the conservation easement acquisition process.

1

Anderson West Land & Timber Otter Creek

Anderson Land & Timber is a 12,022-acre timber operation that consists of planted pine with large expanses of natural forested and non-forested wetlands. Phase 1 acquisition will protect 6,414 acres of the total project site.  The property is situated between the Gulf of Mexico to the west and the Suwanee River to the east. The property is completely surrounded by other conservation lands. The project is located within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

2

Bull Hammock Ranch

Bull Hammock is a 7,310-acre cattle ranch consisting of pasture with many small, scattered wetlands, and an upland forested area (mesic hammock) in Martin County. There are also approximately 300 acres of rotational crops in the northeastern corner of the property. The property includes approximately 4,100 acres of improved pasture and 1,400 acres of unimproved or woodland pasture supporting about a cow-calf operation with 2,500 replacement heifers. Allapattah Flats water management district land is adjacent to the south. The project site is enrolled in the FDACS Best Management Practices (BMP) program, and it is located within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

3

Eight Mile Properties

Eight Mile is a 5,736.76-acre tract in Dixie County stewarded by a pioneering Florida agricultural family. Eight Mile has a long history of silvicultural land management, where approximately half of the property is managed in industrial forestry following state Best Management Practices. The tract is directly adjacent to and surrounded by other conservation areas, including Mallory Swamp, the Upper Steinhatchee Conservation Area, and the Lower Steinhatchee Conservation Area. Eight Mile is a puzzle piece in a matrix of conservation lands in the region and will protect regional water quality by maintaining the integrity of surrounding waterways and their springsheds. Eight mile Creek is an important tributary of the Suwannee River and holds substantial water resource value for the Big Bend region. The project site is enrolled in the FDACS Best Management Practices (BMP) program. It is entirely located within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

4

French Golden Gate

French Golden Gate project contains 6,893 acres of mainly open pastures and fields used for cow/calf ranching and row crop farming interspersed with numerous wetlands and flatwoods in northern DeSoto County. This property is located in the upper Peace River watershed, about five miles from the Peace River, where surface water from the southern portions of the property flows to Joshua Creek. The surrounding area is cropland and pasture with Joshua Creek adjacent to the eastern boundary. The farming operation rotates crops of watermelon, cucumbers, and hay, and includes fire-maintained slash pine flatwoods that support abundant native plant species. A total of 1,238 acres are in wetlands that provide water storage, water quality, and habitat benefits. The project site is enrolled in the FDACS Best Management Practices (BMP) program, and it is located almost entirely within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

5

Hendrie Ranch

Cattle ranching, hay production, and timber harvesting are the predominant agricultural activities on Hendrie Ranch. The property lies on both sides of US Highway 27 in Highlands County and is a nearly contiguous piece of property located at the southern boundary of the Lake Wales Ridge. Hendrie Ranch has been managed by the family for over 65 years for the production of beef and timber and its importance to the greater Fisheating Creek conservation landscape. Hendrie Ranch supports extensive Florida Scrub habitat lying within a matrix of improved pastures and seasonal wetlands used for cattle grazing. The property is contiguous to five large conservation tracts and is enrolled in the FDACS Best Management Practices (BMP) program. It is located within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

6

Keith Whaley Ranch

Keith Whaley Ranch is a 3,382-acre timber and cattle ranch near the Aucilla River consists of timber plantation with extensive wetlands. Timber production has been the primary use on the property with approximately 1,230 acres planted in pine plantation and another 480 acres are in other upland forest types. The project site is enrolled in the FDACS Best Management Practices (BMP) program. The property partially overlaps the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

7

Kissimmee Prairie

Overstreet Ranching and Kissimmee Prairie is a 4,980-acre large-scale cattle ranch on the eastern shore of Lake Kissimmee and adjacent to Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area. This property is mostly pasture interspersed with small depression marshes. It includes patches of dry prairie and corridors of mesic hammocks in low-lying areas, with a citrus grove in the southwest and crops in the northeast corner. It is located within the Avon Park Air Force Range Sentinel Landscape, and in the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area. The Overstreet family began ranching in Florida in the 1800’s. Six generations of the Overstreet Family have ranched on this property. The project site is enrolled in the FDACS Best Management Practices (BMP) program and is located within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

8

Montsdeoca Ranch

Montsdeoca Ranch is a cattle ranch along the Kissimmee River comprised mostly of pasture with isolated wetlands and small pine flatwoods. It is adjacent to water management district land on the northeast and would provide an additional upland buffer to the river and adjacent wetlands. It is also located within the Avon Park Air Force Range Sentinel Landscape and the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area. The property includes approximately 3,900 acres of improved pasture and 800 acres of native grasslands or range. Montsdeoca Ranch has been owned by members of the same family for over 108 years. The project site is enrolled in the FDACS Best Management Practices (BMPs) program, and the project is located within the Florida Wildlife Corridor

9

One Nine Cattle

One Nine Cattle Company is a 2,787.57-acre cattle operation located within the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area and the Avon Park Air Force Range Sentinel Landscape in Okeechobee County. One Nine Cattle is a family-run cattle operation. Seven generations of the Bass Family have ranched this land. The composition of One Nine Cattle Ranch is primarily improved pasture with tree cover and various bottomlands. The protection of this property is a natural extension of the protected lands occurring in the Northern Okeechobee Watershed and would benefit a variety of wide-ranging species. The project site is enrolled in the FDACS Best Management Practices (BMP) program. The property is located within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

10

Overstreet Ranch

Overstreet Ranching and Kissimmee Prairie is a 4,980-acre large-scale cattle ranch on the eastern shore of Lake Kissimmee and adjacent to Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area. This property is mostly pasture interspersed with small depression marshes. It includes patches of dry prairie and corridors of mesic hammocks in low-lying areas, with a citrus grove in the southwest and crops in the northeast corner. It is located within the Avon Park Air Force Range Sentinel Landscape, and in the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area. The Overstreet family began ranching in Florida in the 1800’s. Six generations of the Overstreet Family have ranched on this property. The project site is enrolled in the FDACS Best Management Practices (BMP) program and is located within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

11

Peeples Family Ranch

Peeples Family Ranch is a 6,123-acre cattle ranch consisting of large expanses of pasture with small inclusions of natural non-forested uplands, non-forested wetlands, and forested uplands. Crested caracara was documented on site in 1989, and suitable habitat still exists. This property overlaps a strategic corridor within the Florida Ecological Greenways Network and is within the Florida Wildlife Corridor. The property contains suitable habitat Florida panther, and Florida scrub-jay which have been documented in the vicinity. The project site is enrolled in the FDACS Best Management Practices (BMP) program. It is located within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

12

Raley Grove - Florida Highlands

Raley Grove project is a 418-acre citrus operation with a small section of improved pasture. The property has long been owned by the Raley family and used in citrus production. The project site is enrolled in the FDACS Best Management Practices (BMP) program and is located within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

13

Trailhead Blue Springs

Trailhead Blue Springs is a pine plantation and low-density cattle operation in Levy County that envelops portions of the Waccasassa River and nearly all of Devil’s Hammock Wildlife Management Area. The tract lies on both sides of the Waccasassa River and includes a portion of the floodplain swamp and wetland habitats along it. Most of the uplands have been converted to improved pasture with myriad forested inclusions, particularly dome swamps. The project site is enrolled in the FDACS Best Management Practices (BMP) program. It is located within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

14

Williamson Cattle Co. East

Williamson Cattle Company is a 2,996-acre cattle operation on the eastern portion of an 11,000-acre ranch. The property consists of pasture with inclusions of forested wetlands and small patches of scrub. This project is home to Florida panthers, is located five miles north of Lake Okeechobee, and is in the Northern Okeechobee inflow subbasin and the Taylor Creek and Nubbin Slough watersheds. The Williamson family has had a farming operation and homestead on this land for more than 75 years. They are currently operating a sod and citrus farm with approximately 3,000 head of Brangus cattle in cow/calf commercial breeding. Old Florida East Coast Railroad (constructed in the 1920s) runs through the property and remnants of the historic railroad service town of Opal are located onsite. The project site is enrolled in the FDACS Best Management Practices (BMP) program and it is within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.


Current Participants

Current properties participating in the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program are featured below.

Adams Ranch

Adams-Gopher Hill

Adams-Alapaha Farm

Albritton’s Hart Pasture

Bar Rocking C Ranch

Buck Island Ranch

Camp Lonesome

Canaan Ranch

Candy Bar Ranch

Cannon Farm

Charlie Creek Cattle Company

Circle Pine Farm

Clark Cattle & Citrus

Clay Ranch

Clemons Oak Creek

Corona Ranch

Cow Creek Ranch

Evans Ranch

Fussell Farms Old Town Creek

Grubb Ranch

G-3 Ranch

Goolsby Ranch/Triple G Ranch

Hall's Tiger Bay Ranch

Heart Bar Ranch

Hendrie Ranch

Hiers Farm

Holifield Family Farms

Howard Cattle Corporation

Howze Ranch

Jahreis Ranch

JB Ranch

Joseph Miller Ranch

Keen Family Ranch

Kilbee Ranch

Kirkland Farm

Kuder Ranch

K-Rocker

Lake Hatchineha Ranch

The Land Family

Limestone Creek Ranch

Los Niños Farm

Lowder's Gulf Hammock

Micco Bluff Ranch

Natural Bridge Creek

Ox Creek Ranch

Pelaez & Sons

Pelaez & Sons, Inc.

Perry Smith F&SJ

Phillips Mathis

Rainey Pasture

The River Property

Rodman Plantation

Ryals Cattle Company

S.Y. Hartt

Sampala Lake - Adams

Sampala Lake - Koblegard

Sandy Gully

Smith Family Farm

South Prong

Syfrett Ranch

Tiger Lake Ranch

Todd Clemons

Triple S Ranch

Triple S Ranch - Citrus County

Walpole Ranch

Watson Farm

XL Ranch

Adams Ranch

The Adams Ranch easement encompasses approximately 14,472 acres of which over 3,350 acres are in natural areas in southern Osceola County. This ranch has received state and national awards for its conservation efforts. Ranch Management Plans and Best Management Plans are in place for all components of ranch management. The ranch has been a cooperator with the University of Florida on different programs for many years. These programs for forage production, genetic selection, water quality, etc., are a tremendous benefit to agriculture. This ranch hosts field days and other events to share what is learned with others to improve the overall industry.

Wildlife flourishes on this property, and the ranch management plans include provisions for constantly improving wildlife habitat.

Adams-Gopher Hill

Adams Farms, Inc. is a diversified row crop, cattle, and timber farm located in Walton and Holmes counties. Members of the Adams family have continuously operated parts of this farm since the 1890's.

This farm is designated as an FDACS Florida Pioneer Century Family Farm, recognizing this family as one of the original stewards of the land, preserving environmental resources, and helping foster the state’s agriculture industry.

Adams-Alapaha Farm

Alapaha Farm is an 847-acre cow-calf operation in Hamilton County with approximately 340 acres in improved pasture and 180 acres in silviculture. The Alapaha River forms the property’s northern boundary. Pine plantation areas are primarily managed for long-term production but support hunting and limited grazing. The remainder of the property is primarily in natural woodlands, and ponds managed for wildlife.

The Adams family settled in the area shortly after the Civil War. The property has been in the Adams family for nearly one hundred years. The farm once supported 40 sharecropping families whose main crops were cotton and tobacco. Since 1955, the farm has been dedicated to timber and cattle management.

The property consists primarily of low-relief upland situated above the Alapaha River bluff. At least 10 karst depressions punctuate the upland. These support depression marshes, sinkholes, and sinkhole lakes. Most of the uplands have been disturbed and now support improved pasture (about one-half of the site), successional hardwood forest, and slash pine plantation. The floodplain forest/swamp along the river below the bluff is largely intact. The bluff itself supports an upland hardwood forest. The property’s listed species include gopher tortoises and wading birds.

Albritton’s Hart Pasture

A segment of the Old Cracker Trail that was part of a Ft. Pierce to Ft. Myers cattle drive route is still present on Albritton’s Hart Pasture. The trail used to run to just east of Bradenton and was used for moving both horses and cows cross-state from the 1800s to the mid-20th century. The property is a 3,219-acre cow-calf operation with about 850 head of Brahman and Brangus cattle and seasonal hay and sod production. The ranch contains both natural upland and wetland areas as well as improved pastures. Little Charley Bowlegs Creek enters the property on the north, and there is a large marsh (286 acres) that holds open water for much of the summer. Water flow off the property moves to the north and into Highlands Hammock State Park, helping rehydrate the agricultural operation as well as the hammocks.  

Bar Rocking C Ranch

Bar Rocking C Ranch is a cattle ranch in western Highlands County, approximately 8.3 miles southwest of Sebring and 7 miles northwest of Lake Placid. The eastern half of the property is within the watershed of Fisheating Creek which is part of the Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection Program. This program is aimed at restoring and preserving Lake Okeechobee and related watersheds. The western side of the property falls within the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program boundary.

The Conerly’s are third and fourth-generation cow/calf and citrus producers in the Highlands/Hardee/DeSoto area. Mr. Conerly’s great-grandfather participated in early cattle drives moving livestock to Punta Gorda. Footman Trail runs north and south through the middle of the property. The trail is reputed to have been used by the military to transport equipment and soldiers during the Seminole Indian wars and is now listed as one of Florida’s best bird watching trails.

Buck Island Ranch

Buck Island Ranch is located in the southeast corner of Highlands County just south of Lake Placid, consisting of approximately 6,370 acres.

Buck Island, a name originally attributed to local Native Americans, was originally a 4,500-acre dry prairie with seasonal wetlands and connecting sloughs. The land is within the Indian Prairie, with waters flowing south to Lake Okeechobee. The Ranch was drained from the 1940s to the 1970s as part of the expansion of the regional canal flowing in Lake Okeechobee. This included a new section of the C-41 Harvey Pond Canal which now ran along the north, west, and southern boundaries of the Ranch.

John D. MacArthur acquired the Ranch in 1968, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation oversaw Ranch management until 1988. In that year, Archbold Expeditions assumed management of the Ranch and established the MacArthur Agro-ecology Research Center for Agriculture, Scientific Research, and Education. With a 3,000-head cow-calf operation, Buck Island Ranch is among the top cattle producers in Florida. The Ranch produces more than 2,100 calves annually.

Despite habitat loss from historical pasture conversion, the seasonal wetlands, bay tree swamp, and oak and palm hammocks on the Ranch still support a high regional native species diversity. The Ranch includes 371 native plants and 171 documented bird species. The Ranch provides habitat for several listed animal species, including indigo snakes, Florida black bears, Florida panthers, and snail kites.

The Ranch is located within the Fisheating Creek Ecosystem Florida Forever Project and contains or is adjacent to several USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service wetland reserve program easements. The site has also been enrolled in Best Management Practices since the program’s beginning.

Camp Lonesome

Camp Lonesome is a 4,600-acre ranch in Osceola County northeast of the Turnpike and south of St. Cloud with 847 acres under RFLPP Easements. The ranch is managed as a cow-calf operation with a focus on maintaining landscape sized ecosystem functionality.

The property provides important buffering for the adjacent 2400-acre Osceola County Camp Lonesome Conservation Area and contains wetlands and sloughs that drain into Lake Marion and the Kissimmee River System. The property is in the Big Bend Swamp / Holopaw Ranch Florida Forever Project, designed to protect the south-central Florida natural areas and the Kissimmee River Basin.

Camp Lonesome includes areas of natural habitat, including native flatwoods, and palmetto dry prairie interspersed by a large cypress-dominated swamp and smaller marshes. The native range and pastures are managed with prescribed fire and control of wax myrtle, which benefits the cattle operation and a diverse mix of rare animal species.

The owner has a strong desire to continue the historic ranching operation and pasture management program while simultaneously protecting the extensive native ecosystem. The goal is to pass the ranch on to the next generation ensuring the continued success of the ranching operations.

Canaan Ranch

The Canaan Ranch is a timber operation that includes 3,040 acres in eastern Gilchrist County. The ranch is a contiguous piece of property situated at the northern boundary of the Brooksville Ridge and is about 3.6 miles south-southwest of the Santa Fe River.

This property has been owned and operated by the same family since 1944. Current agricultural uses are timber production and preservation of the longleaf pine/wiregrass ecosystem. Historically, sandhill was the dominant natural community on the tract, and it still represents approximately 43% of the property. About two-thirds of the property is in natural or planted longleaf pine, with lesser portions in planted slash pine, oak hammock, depressional wetlands, food plots, and small karst features.

Canaan Ranch has been implementing Best Management Practices (BMPs) on the farm for decades. BMPs are a set of guidelines that advise producers on how to manage the water, nutrient, and pesticides they are using to reduce agriculture’s impact on the state’s natural resources. Canaan Ranch also uses a prescribed burning system to suppress many undesirable plant species to maintain the trees natural balance.

Candy Bar Ranch

Candy Bar Ranch consists of approximately 834 acres lying in western DeSoto County. The Lanier family began ranching in the 1940s. Only a small portion of the property is in improved pasture, the rest is mesic flatwoods, wet prairies, hardwoods, and depression marshes.

The property’s southwestern corner touches the northeastern corner of the Lewis Longino Preserve and the Longino Ranch Conservation Easement. The RV Griffin Reserve lies approximately two miles south of Candy Bar Ranch. Myakkahatchee Creek Conservation Easement and Walton Ranch lie within 4 miles of the ranch. All these properties are managed by the Southwest Florida Water Management District except Walton Ranch, which Sarasota County manages. Candy Bar Ranch is part of the Myakka Ranchlands Florida Forever BOT Project.

The old Alderman Slough Canal bisects the property and continues southwest through the Longino properties. Alderman Slough is a creek built in the 1950s as part of a drainage system. This system consists of a series of cypress and flag ponds that surface water flows through to serve as a natural filter for the creek.  Most of the water on the property drains into this slough, which eventually ends up in the Peace River and, ultimately, the Charlotte Harbor Estuary.

Cannon Farm

The Cannon Family Farm in Marion County has been in agricultural production for more than 100 years. This conservation easement covers 396 acres of pastures, timber, and cropland and is approximately two miles east of Dunnellon. Several generations of the Cannon family live and work on the property.

Most of the property falls within the 100-year floodplain of the Withlacoochee River. The property is adjacent to the Cross Florida Greenway.

Charlie Creek Cattle Company

The Charlie Creek Cattle Company easement in Hardee County encompasses 3,353 acres. The property is managed as a cow/calf operation with improved pasture and native range. The ranch was acquired and cleared by Carol Sanders’ grandfather, Mel Smith, who moved from Georgia and settled here in the early 1920s, cutting the pine timber and converting it to pasture. The family has managed the property for the past 90 years. The Sanders continue to enrich the long legacy of agricultural production by further clearing vegetation in the mesic flatwoods, where vegetation required additional clearing and burning to improve grazing value.   

The historic Fort Meade-Avon Park Road crosses the property, with remnants of an old bridge crossing Charlie Creek. Four old homestead sites, including the intact Frank Camp house structure, are on the property. The property is also the site of the original Shady Oak Church. Two historic artesian wells are present on the property.

The Old Town Creek Watershed Florida Forever Board of Trustees (BOT) project is within a mile to the northeast. The South Fort Meade Hardee County Conservation Easement, containing much of Little Charlie Creek is about five miles to the west. Sun ‘n Lake Preserve is about four miles southeast on the Highlands County line, and Saddle Blanket Scrub Preserve is about five miles to the northeast in Polk County. The Fussell Farm Old Town Creek Rural and Family Land Protection Program (RFLPP) conservation easement is adjacent to the Charlie Creek Cattle Company RFLPP conservation easement. 

The owners report gopher tortoises, southern fox squirrels, burrowing owls, Florida sandhill cranes, eastern indigo snakes, and cutthroat grass on the property. The site's eastern boundary is one mile west of the secondary range of the Florida black bear for the Glades/Highlands County population, as denoted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. There is at least one active bald eagle nest on the property.   

Greater than 50 percent of the property intersects the 100-year floodplain, containing a large portion of the upper Charlie Creek, which eventually flows into the Peace River. Numerous ephemeral and forested freshwater wetlands occur on this property. Large marshes, floodplain swamps, and hammocks associated with Charlie Creek protect a substantial area of the upper watershed of this wetland system. There are numerous seasonal “flag ponds” that support winter grazing and support a rich abundance of birds and wildlife. 

Aerial maps of the property show a mix of forested wetland, hammocks, and flatwoods to be the largest area of undisturbed natural habitat in the upper watershed of Charlie Creek. The Sanders routinely use prescribed burning on the edges of flatwoods and hammocks. Stands of mature slash pine occur in scattered areas in the upland flatwoods, with an understory largely of saw palmetto. There are acres of river swamps with cabbage palms, gum, oak, and cypress in the deeper, less disturbed wetland zones. Gorgeous live oak hammocks occur throughout the property, and half a dozen live oak trees lay their large limbs at the site of the original homestead property.

The Lake Wales Ridge is four miles to the east. Given its location just south of expanding phosphate mines to the north, its large area of native wetlands protecting the upper watershed of Charlie Creek, abundant wildlife, and nearly a century of agricultural production by the Smith and Sanders families.

Circle Pine Farm

The Circle Pine Farms easement encompasses approximately 82 acres in Gilchrist County. The easement was placed by the owner to enforce the prohibition of development on this property. Longleaf pines have been established on 52 acres of forest land. The 26 acres of ranch land are used for horses. Management activities center around the restoration of a Longleaf pine/ Turkey Oak ecosystem and horse pasture.

Clark Cattle & Citrus

The Clark Cattle and Citrus easement in Polk County encompasses 207 acres. The Clark Family is one of the pioneering families in this area and has owned this property since 1979. Managed as a cow-calf and hay operation, the property is dominated by pasture with cypress domes scattered throughout and has scattered wetlands with drainage ditching from one cypress head to the next, helping recharge in the aquifer. There are moderate to fully stocked cypress domes with mature cypress over 70 feet in height and vary in size and age. There is a small watering pond stocked with catfish.

The Clark Cattle and Citrus RFLPP easement is within the Green Swamp - Peace River Headwaters Florida Forever Project. This project totals over 40,000 acres, over 16,000 of which have been acquired, mostly through the Green Swamp Conservation Easements and Green Swamp Land Authority Land Protection Agreements. Green Swamp (SWFWMD) is located 3.5 miles northwest of the proposal. There are currently easements on 3 sides of this property and much of the surrounding area. The RFLPP conservation easement on this property fills in one of the gaps in the larger picture of preservation and utility of this area. Other easements include Green Swamp / Bass and Gator Creek Reserve to the west of the property.

As part of the Green Swamp headwaters area, there are benefits to having this land in properly managed agriculture to preserve the land’s ability to keep the water quality of this area high while benefiting the ecosystem as a whole and enhancing the level of protection that exists with the Green Swamp Area of Critical State Concern.

Typical wildlife species commonly observed on the property include deer, turkeys, doves, coyotes, alligators, hogs, and wading birds. Rare and endangered species known to occur on the property include Florida scrub jays, wood storks, and whooping (not sandhill) cranes. Bald eagles regularly use the area.

Clay Ranch

The Clay Ranch RFLPP conservation easement in Putnam County encompasses 2,311 acres. The Clay Family has owned the property for 160 years and 7 generations. Three generations currently live on the property and are actively working the land, which is primarily a cattle operation. In an effort to diversify, a 20-acre Blueberry field is in production with plans to expand in size as conditions permit.

The blueberries are grown and marketed with other area growers through Michigan Blueberry Cooperative. There are plans to increase to 60 acres over time. The blueberries are successfully marketed to COSTCO stores. Cattle are commercial grade and marketed nationwide.

The ranch is situated along the southeastern portion of Trail Ridge, an upland feature in northern Florida / southern Georgia, typically supporting sandhill and sandhill upland lakes. The Palatka-to-Lake Butler State Trail runs along State Road 100 across from a small section of the property’s northern boundary. The site is located between two existing conservation areas, the Ordway-Swisher Biological Station and Etoniah Creek State Forest, both within 2 miles. Camp Blanding Military Reservation, Gold Head Branch State Park, and Belmore State Forest all lie within ten miles of the site.

Natural communities on the Clay Ranch are xeric hammock, mesic hammock, sandhill, pine flatwoods, basin and depression marshes, and sandhill upland lake. One-fourth of the property is wetlands, containing numerous lakes and marshes. The eastern portion of the property is drained by the Etoniah Canal and the eastern half of the property contains headwaters of Etoniah Creek. Approximately 67% of the property is within the FEMA 100-year floodplain.

There are documented records on the property for three state-threatened species: Florida black bear, gopher tortoise, and southeastern American kestrel. The Clay Family reports observations of other rare species, including Sherman’s fox squirrels (state species of special concern), Florida sandhill cranes (state-threatened), eastern diamondback rattlesnakes, Florida pine snakes (state species of special concern), eastern indigo snakes (state/federal-threatened), gopher frogs, and a variety of wetland birds.

Clemons Oak Creek

Clemons Oak Creek is predominantly improved pasture managed as a cattle operation with a small acreage in agriculture. Wetlands consist of scattered small depression marshes. Agricultural activities include cattle, citrus and wildlife management. This property has a cow/calf operation on approximately 2,156 acres (which includes approximately 200 acres of marsh habitat) and 136 acres of citrus. The property contains at least two creeks that drain into the Kissimmee River and much of the parcel serves as the headwaters for Oak Creek. The owner has a significant amount of acres encumbered by flowage easements in favor of the SFWMD. The property consists of two parcels, a larger northern parcel and a smaller southern parcel 1.5 miles to the south. The two parcels are situated about 1.5 miles east of the Kissimmee River and 14 miles south of the northern border of Okeechobee County. The two parcels contained within this project have been in the Clemons family for generations. In 2013, the ranch passed to the second generation and the management is very similar to the 1 st  generation- raising high quality cattle.

Corona Ranch

The Corona Ranch RFLPP easement encompasses approximately 2,546 acres in northwest Okeechobee County. This cow/calf operation is adjacent to Triple Diamond Ranch and surrounded by a mosaic of RFLPP projects and conservation lands managed by the South Florida Water Management District and compliments those ongoing conservation efforts. The tract is also located within the Lake Okeechobee Protection Area and is five miles south of Kissimmee River State Park.

Corona Ranch overall acreage is approximately 3,203 acres; of this, 867 acres are under easement as part of the Kissimmee River Restoration Project managed by the South Florida Water Management District. Oak Creek runs from the east side of the property and exits on the west side, flowing into SFWMD conservation land. The property buffers natural areas and greenways which enhance the functioning ecosystems on the ranch and adjacent to the property.

Corona Ranch is currently enrolled in Best Management Practices. They continue to find additional opportunities to be proactive with their conservation practices, especially when it comes to water management. The landowners utilize control structures to maintain a higher water table to encourage forage growth and rehydrate previously drained wetlands.

Cow Creek Ranch

Cow Creek Ranch in Okeechobee County is a 6,774-acre cow/calf operation. The property is a mix of old Florida improved pasture, oak, cabbage palm hammocks, palmetto flats, pine islands, and cypress swamps. The Larson family legacy in the Florida ranching industry spans over 75 years. They were early adopters of Best Management Practices for water conservation and land quality. They believe in taking care of the land and cattle because that will take care of them.

Cow Creek Ranch has several historic features, including an old shed or barn dating back to the early 1900s, one of the oldest buildings in the local tax records. There is a uniquely designed horse barn and a sawmill. A Florida historic trail, Basinger Grade, runs through the property. The dirt road from Ft. Pierce to Basinger was traveled by horse and ox-drawn buggies.

Animal wildlife includes crested caracaras, gopher tortoises, eastern indigo snakes, eastern diamondback rattlesnakes, and American alligators. Wading birds are plentiful, including the wood stork and sandhill crane. Bald eagles, red-tail hawks, and swallow-tailed kites are present as well. Other game on the property includes turkeys, deer, and hogs.

Evans Ranch

The Evans Ranch easement encompasses approximately 677 acres in Flagler County. The property is on the southern shore of Lake Disston and is bordered on the east and the west by the Heart Island Conservation Area. About 329 acres are in natural communities, 114 in timber, and 202 in ranch operations, of which approximately 195 acres are improved pasture. The unimproved grazing land consists of pine timber, oak hammocks, native ponds, and cypress bay heads. A large aquaculture operation is located on the farm in which sturgeon and tilapia are raised.

Fussell Farms Old Town Creek

The Fussell Farms Old Town Creek property is a cow/calf operation on 390 acres in northeastern Hardee County. The conservation easement encumbers 384 acres, with the family retaining five acres for the family’s residence. The property is between Lake Wales Ridge and Avon Park on Old Town Creek Road, approximately two miles north of State Road 64.

The property has a mix of improved pasture, small areas of planted pines, native uplands, depression marshes, and hardwood creek bottom. This is one of many agricultural operations in the area which are under threat of being acquired. Old Town Creek winds through the northwest section of this property, with wooded buffers on either side, for approximately 1/3 of a mile and then empties into Charlie Creek, which runs south through the eastern half of Hardee County and finally meets the Peace River. There is a low-flowing creek that crosses the southeast section of the property. Fussell Farms has several natural wetland features which help support hydrology and wetland systems which enhance groundwater recharge.

The property is adjacent to the Old Town Creek Watershed Florida Forever Project and in close proximity to the Lake Wales Ridge-Avon Park Lakes Florida Forever Project and other privately managed conservation lands.

Grubb Ranch

The Grubb Ranch acquisition consists of 549 acres in east Hardee County, approximately five miles west of Sebring. Grubb Ranch is a working cattle operation that participates in the FDACS BMP Program for cow/calf operations. Grubb Ranch is adjacent to the Sandy Gully RFLPP conservation easement acquired in 2019.

Little Charley Bowlegs Creek is a headwater of the Peace River that runs through Grubb Ranch. The Peace River is a major drinking water source for the residents of DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota Counties. Grubb Ranch is within the Florida Wildlife Corridor, a half-mile from Highlands Hammock State Park, and one mile from the Lake Wales Ridge Florida Forever Project.

G-3 Ranch

G-3 Ranch includes 3,634 acres in south Polk County, approximately six miles southwest of Frostproof. The ranch is predominantly a commercial Brangus cow-calf operation and is enrolled in the FDACS BMP Program. G-3 Ranch contains over 1,000 acres of improved pasture, with the remaining uplands consisting of pine flatwoods and a few small patches of scrub. The property supports an abundant population of wildlife including threatened species such as the eastern indigo snake and gopher tortoise.

G-3 Ranch is within the Florida Wildlife Corridor and five miles from two RFLPP projects (Rocking Bar W Ranch and Charlie Creek Cattle Company). The ranch is in the vicinity of the Old Town Creek Watershed, Lake Wales Ridge Ecosystem Florida Forever projects. The development potential for G-3 Ranch is high, as the property is bordered on the east and west by residential development.

Goolsby Ranch/Triple G Ranch

Goolsby Ranch/Triple G Ranch encompasses 4,468 acres in Highlands County. This conservation easement is adjacent to the Avon Park Bombing Range and the SY Hartt conservation easement. This easement helps serve as a buffer to the bombing range. 

The Goolsby Ranch/Triple G Ranch represents three generations of land ownership and agricultural roots in Florida. In addition to raising beef cattle on the property, the family also uses it for recreational purposes.

Hall's Tiger Bay Ranch

Hall’s Tiger Bay Ranch is 3,867 acres in Desoto County, just south of Arcadia. The property is primarily used for cow/calf operations. The ranch’s land is a diversity of habitats, including pine flats, dry prairie, palmetto scrub, oak hammocks, wetlands, and two prominent sloughs on the east and west of the property. The east side of the property includes Tiger Bay Slough.

Heart Bar Ranch

The Heart Bar Ranch is operated by 5th and 6th generations and has one of the longest legacy ranch histories. This ranch is owned by descendants of Hugh Partin who arrived in Florida in 1847. The property is located just south of the Orlando metropolitan area. Agricultural activities include cattle, timber, wildlife management and a seed business. There are just over 3,000 acres of native or semi-native habitat for wildlife, much of which also supports cattle grazing. Pine flatwoods, forested wetlands and herbaceous wetlands are the primary habitat types. Over 4 miles of Camp Lonesome Creek traverses the property before flowing into Canoe Creek, which has a mile of frontage. The ranch has been managed with long term goals of preserving the natural systems while providing beneficial agricultural products. This property has abundant wildlife and is in very good condition ecologically. The forested area was historically used for turpentine and some “cat-faced” pines still remain onsite.

Hendrie Ranch

Hendrie Ranch is located on U.S. Highway 27 in Highlands County, approximately 11 miles south of the City of Lake Placid and near the Town of Venus. The Hendrie Family has managed the property for timber and beef for more than 65 years and contributes to the conservation of the greater Fisheating Creek conservation landscape.

Acquisition of this conservation easement will be funded, in part, through a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Land Acquisition (RLA) grant to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). The RLA grant’s purpose is to protect Florida Panther habitat and listed bird species, including the Florida scrub jay and crested caracara. 

The project site is adjacent to Archbold Biological Station, two USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Wetlands Reserve Program easements, the Fisheating Creek/Smoak Groves Conservation Easement (DEP), and the Fishing Creek/Lykes Brothers Conservation Easement (FWC). The project is within the Lake Wales Ridge Florida Forever Project and is located within the Lake Okeechobee Basin Management Action Plan boundary.

Hiers Farm

The Hiers Property is 1,386 acres located in southeastern Levy County near the Gulf of Mexico, bordering the western boundary of Goethe State Forest. The property is a wooded, undeveloped tract of land and it is being purchased as part of the Goethe State Forest. Goethe State Forest has more than 15 different natural communities including scrubby flatwoods, dome swamps, sandhills, and basin swamps.  

Goethe State Forest may contain the state's largest tract of contiguous, old-growth longleaf pine flatwoods. This extensive old-growth forest has one of Florida's largest red-cockaded woodpecker populations. Other rare animal species in the forest include the Florida black bear, gopher tortoise, Sherman's fox squirrel, and bald eagle. Rare plants include the hooded pitcher plant and coontie.

The Hiers Property will serve as a buffer to better protect this important area. Hydrologically, it will provide valuable watershed protection for potentially impaired waterbodies in the Waccasassa watershed.

Holifield Family Farms

Holifield Family Farms is located within two miles of the Suwannee River and is a row crop operation on 100 acres during the spring and summer with cattle grazing on the land in the fall and winter.  On the remainder of the property, cattle graze year-round on a large portion, hay is grown and harvested on a smaller portion and there is a small acreage of natural areas. There are multiple game and listed species on the property which lies within 2 miles of the Suwannee River.   

The Holifield family has farmed in this area since the mid to late 1800’s, primarily cattle.  The farming legacy is mostly from the owner’s mother’s side (Barber).  The family drove cattle to Dixie County just after the Civil War, where they still live today.

Howard Cattle Corporation

Howard Cattle is a 754-acre commercial cow/calf and quarter horse breeding operation in Hendry County. The property is adjacent to Spirit of the Wild Wildlife Management Area to the north and Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest to the east. A variety of wetland and large landscape species including the Florida panther are found on this project, which lies within the Florida Wildlife Corridor. 

This property is operated by the 2nd generation of Howards and the 3rd generation is upcoming. The number of cattle on the property range between 220-270 on grasslands primarily composed of improved pasture with pockets of mature pines, cabbage palms, and oaks. It is located entirely within the Twelvemile Slough Florida Forever Project, and other surrounding lands include citrus, pasture, and wetlands.

Ivan Howard is also an investment banker where he leads alternative investment strategy and business development and has a long history of financial advising. His passion outside of finance is cattle and cutting horses. Raised the son of a teacher and a farmer, agriculture has been in his DNA from birth.  His lifelong goal has been to build a ranching operation in his community, and he remains dedicated to that task.  

Howze Ranch

Howze Ranch is a working cow-calf operation in Manatee County with a herd of 85 head of Commercial Crossbred cattle. A majority of the ranch is kept in its native condition, with free-range grazing and the pastures being in a three-year prescribed fire rotation. Best Management Practices (BMPs) are followed on the ranch.

The Howze Family settled in the region in the mid-1800s, where they began ranching and timber operations. This particular property was purchased by the Howze Family in 1931. The family opened the Robbins Manufacturing Company of Tampa in 1938, a lumber and sawmill business, with one of the initial logging operations taking place on the current site.

This ranch is diverse in its wetland makeup with scattered wetland marshes, wet prairies, and natural forested wetlands. Howze Ranch sits within the Upper Myakka River Watershed, includes two tributaries of the Myakka River (Ogleby Creek and Bogey Creek), and buffers Flatford Swamp. More than 25% of the property contains natural, unaltered floodplains. Ogleby Creek flows through and is naturally buffered by the property, eventually emptying into the Upper Myakka headwaters. The marshes allow habitat for wildlife and optimum recharge to the aquifer. The ranch lies within the Myakka Ranchlands Florida Forever BOT Project.

Howze Ranch supports listed and other focal species, including gopher tortoises, indigo snakes, Florida sandhill cranes, Sherman’s fox squirrels, swallow-tailed kites, short-tailed hawks, gopher frogs, burrowing owls, limpkins, crested caracaras, southeastern American kestrels, and various wading bird species. In addition, at least one Florida panther has been seen on the property, and there is potential for roseate spoonbills, wood storks, and Florida sandhill cranes, which have been observed on adjacent properties.

Jahreis Ranch

Jahreis Ranch is a 615-acre ranch in Lake County with agricultural activities that include cattle grazing and a small orange grove. The western boundary of the property connects to a DEP Green Swamp conservation easement. The ranch is located within the Green Swamp Florida Forever Project and just west of the rapidly developing Clermont area. Cattle currently graze almost all of the improved pastures and natural areas.

The property represents a mosaic of pine flatwood forests, wet prairies, improved pastures, xeric hammock, and cypress swamps that are important as wildlife habitat and as significant habitat that makes up the Green Swamp.

The owners would like to pass the ranch on to the next generation and want to insure that the continuation of viable agriculture on the property is possible for future generations.

JB Ranch

JB Ranch is a 9,303-acre working ranch in Collier County with 1,617 acres. The ranch was founded in the 1940s and is under its third generation of management as a cow/calf operation. Other activities include select timber harvesting, beekeeping, and row cropping.

JB Ranch sits atop a huge swath of public lands. Big Cypress National Preserve borders the southern boundary; Wetlands Reserve Program Easement #133 is across CR-858, WRPE #120 abuts two miles of the eastern boundary, and Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge is one mile southwest.

 A southern portion of Okaloacoochee Slough travels through the property. Spreading west from the slough are scattered basin/depression marshes, hydric/mesic hammock, cypress-dominated strand swamp, dome swamps, small areas of pasture, and wet prairie, all mostly within a matrix of wet/hydric flatwoods.

A multitude of rare species are documented on the property. JB Ranch is an important area for feeding, transport, and breeding of Florida panthers, as documented by FFWCC biologists. Additional species include crested caracara, wood stork, and Florida sandhill crane. The property is within the primary Florida black bear range for the Big Cypress population.

Joseph Miller Ranch

The Joseph Miller Ranch is a 490-acre cow/calf operation located about 14 miles west of Port St. Lucie and 11 miles northeast of Okeechobee. The property includes uplands and wetlands, with a diverse range of Florida wildlife. About half of the property supports mature mixed wetland hardwoods and hydric hammock. Numerous depression marshes and small dome swamps are throughout the site. A portion of Cypress Creek runs through the southwestern corner of the property. The remaining acreage is a mosaic of hammocks and woodland pasture.

The Miller family has been in agriculture since 1947 starting with farming then branching out into the cow/calf business. They manage the property for the benefit of agriculture and are working towards habitat management for all species of wildlife.

Keen Family Ranch

The Keen Family Ranch acquisition consists of 1,017 acres in DeSoto County. Located in the Peace River Watershed, it will build on a corridor of conservation lands connecting to protected lands in the Myakka Watershed. The ranch supports habitats for multiple species, including bald eagles, sandhill cranes, fox squirrels, and crested caracaras.

Horse Creek runs through the property, which is the largest tributary to the Peace River. Additionally, Brandy Branch and Buzzard Roost Branch are smaller tributaries on the ranch that flow into Horse Creek.

The Peace River supplies drinking water to more than one million people in the surrounding counties of Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota. The health of the Peace River impacts Charlotte Harbor Estuary, an important recreational fishery and that supports the economic vitality of southwest Florida.

Kilbee Ranch

Kilbee Ranch represents one of the last ranches of its size in Seminole County. This property has been in the family since the 1920s, and there are remnants of a 1900s-era sawmill and hunting camp.

Kilbee Ranch is a working ranch consisting of 1,372 acres of which approximately 1,286 acres are under this conservation easement. It is home to an active cattle operation, as well as silvicultural and hay operations, with approximately 50% of the property being maintained in improved pasture.

The property shares the eastern half of its boundary with the Little Big Econ State Forest and lies in close proximity to the St. Johns and Econlockhatchee Rivers. Scattered about the property are many depression marshes, small pine flatwood remnants, dome swamps, and cabbage palm wet flatwoods, creating a biodiversity that supports numerous species such as gopher tortoise, sandhill cranes, and various varieties of ferns. Kilbee Ranch contains intact cypress stands, moderately stocked stands of slash pine, and forested wetlands of oak, hickory, red maple, sweet gum, and sweet bay.  Additionally, deer, turkeys, coyotes, and Florida black bears are known to inhabit the ranch.

Kirkland Farm

Since 1902, the Kirkland family has farmed near Macclenny in southeastern Baker County. In the mid-1970s, the Kirklands transitioned to timber management and converted a major portion of the 258-acre property to planted pines. Besides timber, the Kirklands also grow sugarcane and still make cane syrup on-site in the traditional manner, using a vertical roller mill powered by a mule, and a large syrup kettle permanently installed in a brick furnace that’s fired by lighter knots.

The loblolly and slash pine forests on the property are bisected by a 39-acre-long bottomland hardwood slough and native grasslands. The wetland contains a portion of the South Prong Tributary of the St. Mary’s River and consists of 1.5 miles of creek bottoms which remain undisturbed and are buffered from silvicultural practices.

Kuder Ranch

The 525-acre Kuder Ranch is a cross-bred cattle operation located just southwest of the Green Swamp within the Lake Wales Ridge ecosystem. The improved pastures are interspersed with ponds, remnants of pine flatwoods, and wetlands that are a mix of baygall, basin swamp, and basin marsh with large cypress trees. Besides the cattle operations, the Bryant family hosts hunts for wounded veterans on the property, as well as wildlife viewing trips. Wildlife on the project includes turkey, roseate spoonbill, sandhill cranes, alligators, bald eagle, swallowtail kites, osprey, bobcat, and fox. Rare and endangered species also occur on the property including Indigo snakes and gopher tortoises.  

K-Rocker

K-Rocker Ranch is a 2,075-acre ranch in Polk County with agricultural activities that include a sod farm and commercial cow-calf operation; 322 acres of the ranch are protected under this easement. The ranch is located at the eastern end of the Lake Wales Ridge Scrub ecosystem and is immediately west of Lake Rosalie and the Kissimmee River State Park. Due to its strategic location as part of a larger landscape project connecting the Disney Wilderness Preserve to the Catfish Creek Preserve, the Kissimmee River State Park, the Bombing Range Ridge project, and the United States Air Force Bombing Range, K-Rocker is an environmental lynchpin as well as prime agriculture land.

The ranch contains oak, scrub, dry prairie, hardwood hammocks, cutthroat seep, bay swamp, hardwood swamp, hammock, and pine flatwoods habitats. Endangered or threatened species include: scrub jays, sand skinks, gopher tortoises, panthers, black bears, eagles, caracaras, wood storks, and sandhill cranes.

Lake Hatchineha Ranch

The Lake Hatchineha Ranch easement in Polk County encompasses 1,619 acres. Managed as a cow-calf operation, nearly half of Lake Hatchineha Ranch is heavily forested and supports a mix of several natural communities, including large prairie hammocks and a small area of remnant pine flatwoods in the center of the property. This property has a healthy mixture of pasture land, upland oaks, cypress swamps, scattered slash pine, open ponds and canals, and small areas of marsh. The ground cover under the oaks is kept open by cattle grazing. Palmetto grows under some of the pine stands along with native grasses and shrubs.

Several small wetlands, both herbaceous and forested, are scattered over the property, but the main hydrological feature is the old drainage way for Catfish Creek. Nine flowing artesian wells on site are being used for livestock watering, and the property has several water bodies and large ditches that are accessible for cattle cooling purposes. Lake Hatchineha Ranch falls within the Lake Okeechobee Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP) and is part of the headwater system for the Everglades.

Existing conservation lands almost surround the Lake Hatchineha Ranch RFLPP conservation easement: Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek Preserve State Park to the southeast, Kissimmee Chain of Lakes (South Florida Water Management District) to the northeast, and Hatchineha Ranch (The Nature Conservancy) to the west. The proposal is located entirely within the Catfish Creek Florida Forever Project, an approximately 20,000-acre project, of which about 50% has been acquired by the state.

The Florida Natural Areas Inventory database has a record of a bald eagle nest in the northeastern portion of the property. Wildlife commonly observed on the property includes turkeys, deer, Florida sandhill cranes, hogs, bobcats, coyotes, raccoons, hawks, quail, and alligators. Rare and endangered species on the property include Florida sandhill cranes, gopher tortoises, southern fox squirrels, bald eagles, and caracaras.

The Land Family

The Land Family property is in north Dixie County approximately eight miles west of the Suwannee River.

The Lands family has found the best use for their property while still producing agricultural commodities and recreational opportunities. The property is also used for hunting and recreation.

Limestone Creek Ranch

Limestone Creek Ranch has operated for over seventy years as a traditional cow/calf cattle ranch with an average of 300 head. Prior to its current ownership, the ranch was owned and operated by the current owner's ancestors, Doyle Carlton, Sr., and Doyle Carlton, Jr. The ranch consists of improved pasture and native woods and is bisected by Limestone Creek which drains east to the Peace River. The property includes a mosaic of uplands and wetlands and is part of a larger landscape of habitat diversity with a total of 2,082 acres.

Current ownership is in an LLC comprised of the grandchild and great grandchildren of Doyle E. Carlton Sr. Since the land was acquired by the late Mr. Carlton in 1935 it has been continuously operated as a traditional cow/calf operation. The current owner worked on the property during the summers of 1960 through 1969. The Carlton family has an extensive history in ranching in Florida. They began ranching in Florida in the mid-1800’s.

Los Niños Farm

Lying just a half mile off the St. Johns River, Los Niños Farm consists of 998 acres of managed slash pine timberlands and was one of the first Florida properties to receive a designation under the American Tree Farm System.  A small Angus cow-calf operation is also managed on the eastern pasture of the property, and the Smith family has farmed in Putnam County for nearly a century. Situated across the river from the historic farming town of Hastings, Los Niños Farm continues the rural agricultural traditions of the area and protects important wetlands bordering the river floodplain with intact basin swamps, baygall, and hydric hammocks.  

Lowder's Gulf Hammock

Lowder’s Gulf Hammock is a timberland located west of the town of Gulf Hammock in Levy County. The tract contains 691 acres about 5.5 miles southeast of Otter Creek. The working timber operation features 306 acres in timber production and the remaining acreage supports a vibrant wetland community that protects the area’s water resources. The lower Waccasassa River passes through much of the western side of the property on its way to the Gulf, contributing to protection of the rich estuary.

The Lowder family purchased this property from Plum Creek approximately five years ago. The family has been involved with agriculture, timber, and conservation projects since the 1990’s, primarily in North Carolina.  The entire property is within Florida black bear range, and a number of wading bird species forage in the wetlands.

Micco Bluff Ranch

The Micco Bluff Ranch is a 2,150-acre Brangus cow/calf operation in Okeechobee County along the Kissimmee River. The RFLPP easement covers 665 acres of the ranch. South Florida Water Management District conservation easements cover other portions of the ranch along the river. This conservation easement is adjacent to the Corona Ranch easement.

This property is a vital wildlife corridor along the Kissimmee River, enhancing the landscape of the area. Wildlife on the property includes crested caracaras, burrowing owls, Florida sandhill cranes, gopher tortoises, Florida black bears, Florida panthers, white-tailed deer, and turkeys.

Micco Bluff Ranch is rich in Florida history. This property was one of the many steamboat stops along the Kissimmee River. The original camp house and cook house remain on the ranch. Native American artifacts have also been found on the property.

Natural Bridge Creek

The Natural Bridge Creek acquisition consists of 1,945 acres in Walton County along the Alabama state line at County Road 181. Natural Bridge Creek, a sand-bottomed seepage stream, transects the subject property and disappears underground in two locations as sink and rise formations in the limestone. This geologic sink/rise formation is reported to be the westernmost in the Florida Aquifer.

In addition to its important natural hydrologic function, the property is also a showpiece for longleaf pine habitat, one of the most intact examples in the region. The property is enrolled in the Florida Forest Stewardship Program and is a learning campus recognized by the Longleaf Alliance, state and federal agencies; and is located within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

Protection of this property will sustain a unique longleaf pine timber operation and provide a buffer for Natural Bridge Creek, protect surface water, functional wetlands, aquifer recharge, and preserve and protect numerous species, such as the threatened gopher tortoise.

Ox Creek Ranch

The Ox Creek Ranch Project property consists of 759 acres in Indian River County. The conservation easement encumbers 752 acres with the family retaining seven acres for the family’s residence.

The property, located just south of Fellsmere Road and west of the large marshes and lakes at the southern extent of the upper St. Johns River, was farmed by the Hamilton Family around 1905. X.O. Lisle, the deceased husband of Doris Lisle, and his father, leased the property to hunt and recreate with his family. The Lisle’s’ goal since their youth had been to own a piece of old Florida that they had once hunted and to keep the natural beauty of the land they had come to love while providing sufficient productive pasture to achieve a sustainable cattle operation. In 1984, X.O. Lisle purchased the Ox Creek Ranch property.

Mr. and Mrs. Lisle researched preferred range and cattle management practices with IFAS before laying out irrigation, clearing pastures, and planting a small citrus grove. They deepened the natural ponds and worked with SJRWMD staff to install four artesian wells. Their daughter, Debbie, now lives and guides the management of the ranch with the able help of her children. This ranch is a family operation and holds much meaning for the entire family.

A cattle operation with 480 acres of improved and unimproved pasture with Brangus, Florida cracker, and Longhorn cattle. Other agriculture activities include hay production and a 10-acre citrus farm.

There are multiple natural communities on the property and Ox Creek, a tributary of the St. Johns River, lies along the southern boundary. The large St. Johns River Water Management District, Three Forks, and Blue Cypress Conservation Areas lie just east of Ox Creek Ranch. The southwest corner of Three Forks Conservation Area is across the county road from the northeast corner of the ranch. Far Reach Ranch (north), Escape Ranch, and Mills Ranch (both west) Conservation Easements (SJRWMD) are one and two miles, respectively, to the north and west of the property.

Pelaez & Sons

The Pelaez and Sons RFLPP conservation easement in Okeechobee County encompasses 1,395 acres. The Pelaez Family has been in the cattle business since the 1950s. They began ranching in Columbia, South America. After moving to the United States, the family began ranching in Palm Beach County and established ranches in St. Lucie County and Okeechobee Counties. The ranch is operated by Ralph Pelaez, a 1967 graduate of the University of Florida’s Animal Science program, and his daughter Stephanie. Ralph Pelaez has received much recognition for his innovative ideas and cattle production practices. The family hopes to continue in the agriculture business for many years.

Pelaez and Sons are currently enrolled in Best Management Practices. This has allowed the ranch to install a number of BMPs, including alternative water sources, cross fencing for rotational grazing, structures for water control, and to perform pasture renovation and weed control. In addition, Pelaez and Sons Ranch has allowed UF/IFAS to perform research regarding the effectiveness of BMPs on their ranch. This research data is used to improve agricultural BMPs. The ranch is also included in the UF annual beef production class field trip.

Pelaez and Sons Ranch is a member of the Florida Heritage Beef (FHB) program, an organization composed of a group of cow-calf producers located within the state of Florida. The members have built a solid reputation for quality Florida beef cattle and business ethics. Each producer contributes agribusiness experience, cattle expertise, business, and personal integrity to provide customer transaction confidence.

The property shares its western border with Wetlands Reserve Program Easements #184 and #163 (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service). The latter in turn borders the Kissimmee River Restoration Project (South Florida Water Management District) on its western side. Pelaez and Sons Ranch conservation easement is within the Nubbin Slough Drainage Basin in Okeechobee County and contributes to the Lake Okeechobee Watershed.

Pelaez and Sons Ranch is a cow/calf operation with mostly improved pastures with the presence of other habitats on the property, including hardwood hammocks and 200 acres of wetlands. Pine ledges throughout the property consist primarily of South Florida slash pine.

Common wildlife on the property includes white-tailed deer, wild hogs, wild turkeys, snail Kites, white pelicans, marsh rabbits, ospreys, otters, and soft shell turtles. Endangered species that occur on the property include wood storks, crested caracaras, indigo snakes, and bald eagles, which nest on the property.

Pelaez & Sons, Inc.

Pelaez and Sons, Inc. is a family owned and operated cow-calf operation raising commercial Brangus cattle in Okeechobee County. The cow-calf operation is managed over two ranches: the 1,456-acre Eagles Nest in the southwestern part of the county and the 798-acre Willaway Ranch near Fort Drum. In 2017, 1,395 acres of Eagles Nest was placed a conservation easement with the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program. This project of just over 748 acres was purchased in conjunction with The Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program.

The Pelaez Family began ranching in 1953 and operate a high-quality cattle operation that is well respected throughout the agricultural community. They manage 900 head of commercial Brangus cattle on this ranch and are a licensed producer of Florida Heritage Beef LLC. The landscape of Pelaez and Sons is primarily composed of improved pasture, but the ranch preserves much native land including hardwood hammocks and pinewood ledges. Towering Live oaks are cherished at the ranch along with the many sable palms and pines, sheltering much native flora and fauna, including Bald eagles, kestrels, crested caracara, turkey, and whitetail deer, as well as native bromeliads, ferns, and air plants.

Perry Smith F&SJ

Five generations of Smiths have been farming and ranching in the Hastings area since the 1920s. In 2003, Mr. Smith acquired the mesic timberland in St. Johns and Flagler Counties, where he hunted as a young boy. The property, located ten miles southeast of the city of Hastings, is part of a greater mosaic of natural areas. Within the Matanzas to Ocala Conservation Corridor Florida Forever BOT Project, the Smith property is adjacent to the privately-owned Brick Road Mitigation Bank. It is within 20 miles of multiple state parks, state forests, conservation areas, and wildlife management areas.

The site is one mile east of Flagler Estates, a 10,000-acre subdivision established in the 1970s on the Flagler and St., Johns Counties border. The property is proximate to Old Brick Township, Neoga Lakes, and Palm Coast Park Developments of Regional Impact (DRI) within Flagler County.

About 10% of the property is upland, composed of both cutover or currently young planted pine (~115 acres) and 90% is cypress- or hardwood-dominated basin swamp. Approximately 85% of the property is within the FEMA 100-year floodplain which are part of the larger Big Cypress Swamp. The wetlands on the property are a natural drainage generally to the south and into Crescent Lake several miles away.

The Perry Smith Family project is within the primary range of Florida black bears. Mr. Smith has also observed white-tailed deer, wild hogs, wild turkeys, foxes, Sherman’s fox squirrels, and sandhill cranes on the property.

Phillips Mathis

Phillips Mathis Ranch is a working ranch of 632 acres, 616 acres of which are covered by conservation easements. Home to a cattle operation of approximately 120 head and a hay program, this property has been in the family since the 1860s for 5 generations. Phillips-Mathis represents one of the last ranches of its size in Pasco County.

Through a partnership with Pasco County, the RFLPP easement covers the southern half of the property and an easement with Pasco County covers the northern half.

The property has a mix of range land and a mosaic of wetlands. The majority of the uplands are improved pasture, consisting of primarily oak and hydric hammock wetlands draining into Cypress Swamp to the southwest. The habitat is conducive to multiple species of protected wildlife.

Philips Mathis is adjacent to the SFWMD’s Cypress Creek Well Field and Cypress Creek Preserve. This acquisition creates a significant buffer to Cypress Creek from development threats to the east, while also protecting the areas ecological integrity and provides linkage to the conservation corridor containing the Tampa Bay Regional Well Fields and Conner Preserve.

Rainey Pasture

Rainey Pasture is in timber management and is the focus of the Silver Springs Watershed Forest Legacy Program project. Rainey Pasture includes 5,155 (as determined in GIS) and is located in central Marion County. It is a contiguous piece of property, with some inholdings. The property consists of fully stocked planted loblolly pine which is the primary timber resource. This property was purchased by the current landowner in 2014 from Rayonier which has, for many years, managed the property for timber production. The entire property is within the ‘abundant’ designation of the Florida black bear range as denoted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; the population of the Ocala National Forest and surrounding lands, including the property, is considered the largest in the state. Although most of the site’s uplands have been degraded by forestry activities, wetland communities within the site have some potential to harbor additional rare species including plants, invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

The River Property

The River Property is a commercial cow operation containing 3,068 acres located in south Highlands County along the Kissimmee River, north of Lake Okeechobee. The owners participate in the FDACS Agricultural BMP Program for cow/calf operations. This acquisition represents the total River Property RFLPP project.

The River Property includes several water control structures on the ranch that retain and filter water before release into the Kissimmee River. The proposed conservation easement protects the integrity and function of Southwest Florida’s working landscapes and ensures opportunities for viable agricultural activities on working lands threatened by development.

The River Property is near the Pelaez and Sons RFLPP conservation easement, several USDA/NRCS Wetlands Reserve Program easements, and several Southwest Florida Water Management District properties. The property supports habitat for several listed species, including the gopher tortoise and crested caracara.

Rodman Plantation

The Rodman Plantation conservation easement is 1,583 acres located in Putnam County. The Rodman Plantation property was first established in 1830 as a 16,000-acre landholding. The land became the site of a sawmill town in the early 1900s, lasting until the Great Depression when the sawmill closed and most of the town disappeared. 

This easement is a mix of timber and cattle production following Best Management Practices. The pine plantations are also burned regularly to prevent the threat of wildfire. The Rodman Plantation is located between several large public parcels of conservation lands providing a strategic wildlife connector.

Ryals Cattle Company

Ryals Cattle Company contains 2,846 acres within the larger 4,200-acre Ryals Ranch. Ryals Ranch is in north Charlotte County approximately 12 miles east of Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte.

The Ryals family has been ranching in southwest Florida since the 1920s and has been on the current RFLPP project site for three generations. Ryals Ranch is a commercial cattle ranch and is enrolled in the FDACS BMP program for cow/calf operations.

The property is within the Florida Wildlife Corridor. Prairie Creek, a headwater of the Peace River, flows through the property for more than a mile. The property contains a mix of improved pasture and native range, as well as several depression marshes. This property is adjacent to Charlotte County’s Prairie Creek Preserve and is two miles north of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Fred C. Babcock/Cecil M. Webb Wildlife Management Area. The ranch supports habitat for threatened species, including the gopher tortoise and various listed wading birds.

S.Y. Hartt

The Hartt Family Ranch is located in Highlands County and has been in agriculture for generations, with many years in timber and farming. S.Y. Hartt purchased the property in 1939. The 8,950-acre ranch has 5,600 acres for ranching, 1,100 acres of citrus groves, and 350 acres for sod, hay, and feed grass. The Rural and Family Lands Protection Program easement covers 5,308 acres.

Located near Avon Park Bombing Range and bordering the Lake Wales Ridge, S.Y. Hartt Ranch is within the Northern Everglades Watershed and is composed of freshwater marshes, oak hammocks, swamps, wet and dry prairies, cypress domes, improved pasture, and citrus. It includes native pine flatwoods, several live oak hammocks, and a gorgeous cypress/hardwood forest buffering Arbuckle Creek.

Arbuckle Creek, the major natural feature of the ranch, flows through the property for seven miles, then into Lake Arbuckle and on to Lake Istokpoga, eventually flowing into Lake Okeechobee, all part of the Kissimmee River Watershed. The Hartts have worked to protect and preserve a natural shoreline buffer. Several small, drier scrub ridges with remnant native oak/pine vegetation and several hundred acres of moderately well-stocked pine flatwoods remain.

The property contains numerous native plants and animals, as well as threatened and endangered species. Historical features include several pre-historic Native American middens, which have been recovered and protected, and an original 1930s Cracker farmhouse.

Sampala Lake - Adams

The Sampala Lake property is a 785-acre working ranch located on the north shore of Sampala Lake in Madison County. The property has been in agricultural production for more than 80 years and is one of two ownerships within Sampala Lake Ranch. This is the second RFLPP Program to acquire a conservation easement on Sampala Lake.

The cow/calf operation is stocked with Adams Ranch Bradford and composite breeds. Other agricultural activities include row crops and limited silviculture.

The property contains portions of Sampala Lake and Sampala Swamp that are within the headwaters of the Econfina River. The property’s natural communities include cypress swamp, basin marsh, depression marsh, bottomland forest, and upland hardwood forest. The entire property is within the Florida black bear range as determined by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Black bears have been documented on the property.

This property combines open space, aquifer recharge, and working agriculture lands with wildlife corridors.

Sampala Lake - Koblegard

The Koblegard property is owned by the Adams family, and is a working cow/calf ranch with timber and farming that has been in agricultural production for more than 80 years in Madison County. The property combines open space, aquifer recharge, and working agricultural lands with wildlife corridors. The cow/calf operation is stocked with Adams Ranch Braford and composite breeds.

This property is significant as part of the historical site of San Pedro y San Pablo de Protohiriba on Lake Sampala, one of the five missions established by the Spanish in the 1600s.  It was established in the Yustega province between 1609 and 1655, and of the five missions or doctrinas, San Pedro was the largest and most important.

The Sampala Lake – Kobelgard easement sits seven miles southwest of Madison on the south side of beautiful Sampala Lake, a non-sovereign 115-acre spring fed lake, which reaches a depth of 18 feet and is host to a myriad of aquatic species, including large-mouth bass and panfish.  Sampala Lake is part of the headwaters of the Econfina River and is distinctive for its manatee shape.  In addition to Sampala Lake, there are 363 acres of natural forest and 352 acres of wetlands on the property, including a cypress-tupelo basin swamp, basin marsh, bottomland forest, and hydric hammock.

Typical wildlife species commonly observed on the property include eagles, black bears, deer, turkeys, squirrels, wood ducks, and various waterfowl.  Rare and endangered species known to occur on the property include Sherman’s fox squirrel. The lake and wetlands likely are used by a variety of wading bird species as well as the American alligator.

Sandy Gully

The Sandy Gully Ranch easement encompasses approximately 3,097 acres in Highlands County and is one mile west of Sebring. Sandy Gully represents three generations of land ownership and agriculture in Florida. In 1968, O.W. Goolsby decided to move his successful dairy business to South Central Florida and purchased two large tracts in Highlands County. One of these parcels became Sandy Gully Ranch.

Sandy Gully Ranch is situated on the western slope of the Lake Wales Ridge and is adjacent to the northern boundary of Highlands Hammock State Park. The ranch’s wetlands drain through the state park, then pass into tributaries of Little Charlie Creek. Little Charlie Creek is a tributary of Charlie Creek that is a headwater of the Peace River. The ranch’s natural communities include oak hammocks, flatwoods, and cypress domes. Approximately 520 acres (16 percent) are scrubby flatwoods.

The ranch provides habitat for several listed animal species, including gopher tortoises, eastern indigo snakes, southern fox squirrels, and Florida panthers. The ranch is located within Florida black bear habitat designated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Approximately 50 percent of the ranch lies within the boundaries of the Everglades Headwaters Conservation Area.

The ranch includes one historic resource listed in the Florida Master Site File: Sandy Gully Line. Previous owners built this railroad tram line in the 1930s and 1940s for logging operations. The property also contains several original structures that were part of a turpentine camp that operated in the 1920s and 1930s.

Smith Family Farm

The Smith Family Farm easement encompasses approximately 694 acres in St. Johns and Putnam Counties. This farm has been in the Smith Family since the 1920s and is a true family farm. Agricultural activities include pasture, forage, livestock, sod, and row crops. The property is dominated by cleared, leveled and drained farm fields and pasture. This property is located in and amongst the historic agriculture region of Hastings, northeast of Palatka. The Hastings agricultural area started in the 1880s to supply fresh vegetables to Henry Flagler’s hotels and railroads.

South Prong

South Prong is a working forest and hunting property situated at the headwaters of the South Prong is a working forest and hunting property situated at the headwaters of the South Prong of the St. Marys River. The property includes 1,427 acres of uplands, of which 1,355 acres represent actively managed timber and 72 acres of other agriculture. Pine species on the property include slash, loblolly, and longleaf; stands range from semi-natural flatwoods to pine plantation, with a diversity of age classes. More than 970 acres of wetlands are considered as natural area, although 113 acres of wet flatwoods are used in active forestry. The remaining 860 acres represent mixed pine-hardwood bottomland and cypress swamp (bottomland forest, hydric hammock, baygall, floodplain/basin swamp). In addition to forestry, the property supports income-producing managed hunts and agritourism. The property also is open to various youth and educational groups.

Syfrett Ranch

The Syfrett family purchased the land from George Baya 18 years go. Prior to this, the ranch was part of the Williams 101 Ranch. This is a cow/calf operation on improved limpo grasses which include Hemarthria and Star grass. The ranch also has a complete drainage and irrigation system for flood stabilization. Multiple assistance programs are in place. The property contains improved and semi-improved pasture as well as hammocks and natural areas.

The herd is composed of Brangus Cross averaging approximately 900 – 1200 lbs. and are on the animal ID program. Pasture grass species include 300 acres of Bahia grass, with the rest in Hermarthria and star grass. The Ranch rotates between 18 to 20 pastures on an as- needed basis depending on forage height. The Syfretts hope to maintain the land as an agricultural operation and to maintain the open space in order to help improve water quality of Lake Okeechobee.

Tiger Lake Ranch

The Tiger Lake Ranch easement encompasses approximately 1,762 acres. The property is in rural Polk County along the shores of Tiger Lake, across from Lake Kissimmee State Park. It is surrounded by the Bombing Range Ridge Florida Forever Project and is in close proximity to the Lake Wales Ridge State Forest. Tiger Lake Ranch is within the Lake Kissimmee drainage basin, the Lake Kissimmee watershed, and the Kissimmee River Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan Management Area.

There are approximately 1,500 acres dedicated to ranch operations and 500 acres of natural communities. Cattle graze almost all improved pastures and natural areas. The ranch has fields dedicated to hay production and citrus groves on approximately 200 acres. Natural areas are scattered throughout the ranch, providing habitats for native plants and animals. There is a small amount of pine tree timber present on the ranch.

Todd Clemons

The Todd Clemons Unit One conservation easement is 931 acres, located in Okeechobee County along the Kissimmee River basin. This property has been in agriculture for over 100 years spanning five generations of the Clemons family. Agricultural activity that has occurred on the property includes cow/calf operations, citrus, and wildlife management.

This easement is located near the Corona Ranch, Micco Bluff Ranch conservation easement, as well as South Florida Water Management District easements along the Kissimmee River. This connectivity with other conservation land helps provide an excellent buffer from future development.

Triple S Ranch

The Triple S Ranch project is a 7,053-acre cow/calf operation in Okeechobee County, about twenty-five miles west of the city of Ft. Pierce. The 4,108-acre easement places approximately 59% of the project under protection. The property has been in the Scott Family since 1948 and is primarily improved pasture.

With the exception of the improved pasture, the property has remained in its natural state as acquired in 1948. About one-fifth of the property supports natural upland vegetation, including scrub and mesic flatwoods, which are considered underrepresented communities in Florida. Foremost among these are several large blocks of mesic flatwoods dominated by long leaf pine, very near the southeastern distribution for the species.

The property is primarily within the recharge range for the Kissimmee River Basin and lies 15 miles north of Lake Okeechobee. There are an abundance of cypress dome and strand swamps that are interconnected throughout the property and occur along Cow Creek, Gomez Creek, Quail Creek, and Telegraph Branch which all run through the property and contribute to the St. Lucie Estuary watershed. The property has high hydrological resource benefits.

There are numerous rare and endangered species on the property, including a Florida panther that travels near the property. Other species include bald eagles, gopher tortoises, Florida scrub jays, indigo snakes, burrowing owls, fox squirrels, and numerous wading birds.

The Scott family has the property on a 3 to 4-year prescribed fire burn rotation, burning some 800 to 1,000 acres each year, and is actively controlling invasive plant species.

Triple S Ranch - Citrus County

The Triple S Ranch is a working farm in Citrus County with operations that include raising whitetail deer. The property is adjacent to the Withlacoochee River floodplain and the Withlacoochee State Trail.  The property contains multiple cultural resource sites registered with the Division of Historical Resources.

The ranch contains a diverse ecology, including mixed hardwood–coniferous, cypress swamp, sandhill, improved pasture, freshwater marshes, freshwater non-forested wetlands, wet prairie, and rural lands. The hardwood areas contain a closed canopy mixture of old-growth live oaks, laurel oaks, slash pine, and sable palms.

Walpole Ranch

The Walpole Ranch RFLPP conservation easement in the northwest corner of Martin and southeast corner of St. Lucie Counties encompasses 1,818 acres.

Walpole Ranch is a highly productive cow/calf operation. They are charter members of the Florida Heritage Beef marketing group, representing over 40,000 head of quality Florida feeder calves. The Walpole’s were early adopters of Best Management Practices and have been recognized and awarded by Florida Farm Bureau's CARES program.

About sixty percent of the property is improved pasture. Also present are areas of floodplain forest, depression marsh, pine flatwoods, and scubby flatwoods. The latter occupies a small hill in the northeast corner of the property adjacent to Van Swearingen Creek.

The ranch is adjacent to the Bluefield Ranch Mitigation Bank and the St. Lucie County, Bluefield Ranch Property. Natural areas include depression marshes, baygall, pine flatwoods, and hydric hammocks. There are 500 acres of wetlands, all of which are managed with buffer areas, including Van Swearingen Creek. Some of the wetlands have riser culverts to maintain groundwater levels and allow wading bird populations to flourish.

The property may contain the remains of Fort Van Swearingen.

The native wildlife observed on the property included whitetail deer, turkeys, hogs, sandhill cranes, hawks, and snakes. Some rare and endangered animals on the property include the Florida panther, black bear, scrub jay, and gopher tortoise. Some listed plants on the property are large-flowered false rosemary and nodding pineweed.

Watson Farm

The nineteenth-century town of Osceola used to stand on the property where the Watson Farm is now located in rural Gilchrist County. The property has been a Watson family-owned and operated farm since near the turn of the twentieth century and is now operated by the fourth generation of Watsons.

Over the decades, the Watson Farm has produced a variety of crops including vegetables, tobacco, and watermelons, and maintained steady animal production. The current dairy was started in 1999, as the family’s beef cows were sold and replaced with dairy stock. Former row crop fields were planted to pasture grass to support the dairy operations.

The entire site is uplands, with two-thirds in improved pasture. Forest stands are scattered across the property, supporting a mixture of hardwoods and pines, along with two small areas of slash and loblolly pine plantations.

XL Ranch

The 408-acre tract consists of improved pasture which supports the cow/calf operation conducted on the larger 3,232-acre ranch in Highlands County. The remaining 2,800 acres of XL Ranch are protected under The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the USDA conservation easements. It is the overall intention of the owners to maintain the land in its current form and see that it remains of agricultural value for generations to come.

The expanse of the adjacent conservation lands provides a wide range of native habitats supporting both game and non-game species and plants. Multiple species are present on the property including: burrowing owls, wood storks, alligators, migrating swallowtail kites, whitetail deer, turkeys, and known occurrences of roaming Florida Panthers. The property has also become home to 12 radio-collared black bear, tracked by the FWC, known to forage and roam the ranch. XL Ranch is adjacent to the Archbold Biological Station.

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