Nearly 8,500 Florida acres saved from development

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - It's being called a major win in land conservation!  The Florida Cabinet in Tallahassee approved two Florida Conservation Group projects in Hardee and Okeechobee Counties.

Together, the permanent preservation of these properties, totaling 8,500 acres, marks strategic progress in protecting Florida’s water resources, wildlife habitat and working ranch land.

The backstory:

Bentley Ranch encompasses more than six miles of land on Oak Creek. It's one of several Peace River tributaries in southeastern Hardee County. The natural landscape of the property supports clean water flow, aquifer recharge and flood mitigation throughout the region. These functions are critical to maintaining water quality that sustains over one million Florida residents across Hardee, DeSoto, Manatee and Charlotte counties who rely on the Peace River for their drinking water. 

The easement ensures this working cattle ranch will remain undeveloped forever, preserving its essential role within the Peace River Watershed. It's one of southwest Florida’s most important and vulnerable freshwater systems.

"Protecting the wildlife and water connections between our rural ranch lands and our Gulf Coast is a defining goal of FCG," said Julie Morris, executive director of Florida Conservation Group. "We are dedicated to working with our state partners and landowners like the Bentleys to protect Florida’s family farms and our rural heartland." 

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The property also lies within a critical zone of the Florida Wildlife Corridor, making it one of the highest priorities for conservation within the Corridor. The ranch bolsters connectivity between protected lands in Hardee and Highlands counties. 

With only six percent of land in Hardee County preserved, protecting Bentley Ranch has become essential for maintaining habitat connectivity and supporting the region’s rich biodiversity.  The ranch’s pastures and forests are important for wide-ranging species, including the Florida black bear, Florida panther and Eastern Indigo snake.

"We’re very fortunate to live in the middle of so much natural beauty and earn our living from this land," said Jason Bentley, the owner of Bentley Ranch whose family has run agricultural operations here since the 1940s. "Sometimes it’s not the easiest occupation, but we enjoy what we do, and it’s gratifying to be out here sharing this land with all the wildlife."
 

Dig deeper:

The permanent preservation of another nearly 6,000 acres of ranch land in Okeechobee County builds on the network of protected lands in the Great Florida Prairie. It's a longstanding focus of FCG’s land conservation efforts. It includes the headwaters of the Everglades.  Conserving this land will protect the integrity of the Kissimmee River, the health of Lake Okeechobee and the drinking downstream for millions of Floridians.

"We want to conserve these natural resources, our agricultural legacy and the local agricultural economy," Bentley said.