Florida Conservation Group celebrates historic Hardee County ranch conservation
Tallahassee, FL. — The Florida Conservation Group (FCG) is celebrating the approval by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet of a conservation easement that will provide permanent protection to the family-owned Buckhorn Ranch in Hardee County.
The historic 1,327-acre cow-calf and citrus operation and natural area, located east of Wauchula, contains nearly 2 miles of frontage along Buckhorn Creek, a tributary of Charlie Creek and the Peace River. The easement is a project of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ (FDACS) Rural and Family Lands Protection Program (RFLPP).
FCG worked closely with Buckhorn Ranch throughout the conservation process and is helping other agricultural families in rural Hardee and DeSoto counties conserve their lands for the benefit of both the families and all Floridians.
The creek systems that flow through Buckhorn Ranch grasslands are part of the Peace River Watershed, which feeds Charlotte Harbor and provides drinking water to more than a million people in Southwest Florida. The ranch’s pastures, wetlands, groves and hardwood hammocks play a critical role in storing flood waters and maintaining the water quality and hydrological flows into Charlotte Harbor.
The easement will add important acreage to the Florida Wildlife Corridor and help link other protected areas recently conserved by part of the same family.
Clay Smith, the rancher who owns Buckhorn Ranch, couldn’t be more pleased with the opportunity.
“The ranch my great grandfather put together 170 years ago was 6,000 acres overall, and much of it is still in our family,” he said. “The state conservation programs like Rural and Family Lands and Florida Forever are one of the main reasons we will be able to keep it just as it is.”
Smith said preserving land like the Buckhorn Ranch is not just about saving a piece of Florida’s past but also about creating a better future for the state.
“It really comes down to what the Florida Legislature wants the state to look like in 30 years or so,” said Smith. “We can be one big urban sprawl, or we can take care of the natural resources that draw so many people to Florida in the first place. To me, it’s a no-brainer. We need to fund these programs.”
“Our family has always had a land ethic,” he added, “since really land is all we’ve ever had.”
Now that the Buckhorn Ranch project is approved, it means almost 4,000 acres of the family’s original ranch have been preserved forever.
“FCG is honored to work alongside the Smith family, FDACS and state leaders to conserve lands that are vital to the agricultural and environmental legacy of Florida,” said FCG Executive Director Julie Morris. “It will take a mixture of public and private conservation lands to protect the state’s water, wildlife and greenspace. Land conservation programs such as the RFLPP and its counterpart, Florida Forever at the Department of Environmental Protection, play an essential role, but lasting conservation success requires sustained public investment. These programs are dependent on the Florida Legislature for funding each year, which presents an ongoing challenge.”
“Landowners like the Smiths are lining up, willing to protect their land,” added Morris. “But we need funding for both Rural and Family Lands and Florida Forever. We are in a race against time. With over 1,000 people moving to Florida every day, we need to protect these lands now. We need to protect what we hold dear as Floridians before it’s too late.”
About FCG
With locations in Venice and Myakka City, FCG is committed to conserving Florida’s natural landscape, wildlife, food and water, while maintaining working agricultural lands that are essential to the state’s economy and national security. Comprised of scientists, ranchers and conservation policy experts, FCG advocates for full funding for state land protection programs, including the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program and the Florida Forever Program. FCG works on the ground with ranchers and farmers to conserve their lands in perpetuity. Since its inception in 2015, FCG has represented private landowners in the conservation of more than 115,000 acres of land and facilitated the protection of thousands of additional acres on behalf of government entities.