Conservation Florida Conserves 1,250-Acre Arbuckle Creek Ranch

A cowboy rides out on a foggy morning to tend cattle on Arbuckle Creek Ranch. Photo by Carlton Ward, Jr/Wildpath.

The power of partnership protects 1,250 acres of critical land in the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

Avon Park, Fla., (February 8, 2023) — Conservation Florida, a dynamic driver of statewide land conservation, with its partners at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), has officially conserved 1,250 acres that will protect vital wildlife habitats on the eastern edge of the Lake Wales Ridge in Highlands County, Florida.

The property is a major connector piece in the Florida Wildlife Corridor, linking environmentally important and protected properties in the region. Arbuckle Creek Ranch is critical to protect and beneficial to the public because it helps filter and replenish drinking water within the Lake Istokpoga watershed, which drains into the Kissimmee River and on to Lake Okeechobee. It also supports local agriculture, aids military readiness, and provides habitat for native plants and wildlife.

“This easement held by Conservation Florida is 1,250 acres, but the benefits of conserving Arbuckle Creek Ranch extend well beyond its boundaries,” said Traci Deen, Conservation Florida’s President and CEO. “It contributes to the health of the entire Greater Everglades Ecosystem and adds to the Florida Wildlife Corridor. The property protects a mile of Arbuckle Creek, hundreds of acres of a critically endangered grass, and supports a working cattle ranch - all while supporting our military readiness. We could not be more proud to have worked together with our partners and the Butler family to see this conservation project through."

The resulting $3.2 million conservation easement purchase was completed thanks to the support of Conservation Florida's supporters, the DoD, through the U.S. Air Force’s implementation of DoD’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program, and the USDA's NRCS Agricultural Conservation Easement Program for Agricultural Land Easements (ACEP-ALE).

The ranch is within the boundaries of the Avon Park Air Force Range (APAFR) Sentinel Landscape. This vast landscape is centered around the Air Force’s “largest primary air-to-ground training range east of the Mississippi River,” according to APAFR. In addition to the water, wildlife, and habitat benefits, the protection of Arbuckle Creek Ranch benefits the Avon Park Air Force Range Sentinel Landscape by reducing residential development that interferes with military operations.

Conservation Florida has been working to protect this property since the landowners, R.D. and Rosa Butler, met with Conservation Florida in 2019. In 2020, the group secured a contract for the purchase of a conservation easement on the property that gave the nonprofit time to seek funding. An easement is a binding legal agreement that permanently restricts development activities and permanently protects a property's conservation values.

“The Sentinel Landscape was a major factor in our decision to pursue this easement. Therefore assuring that the property will never be developed," said Arbuckle Creek Ranch landowner R.D. Butler. "Rosa and I are grateful for the efforts of Conservation Florida in making this easement a reality”.

“When private landowners, nonprofits, and agencies work together, we can protect critical ranch lands within the Avon Park Air Force Range Sentinel Landscape. Partnerships such as this one are helping to keep the ranching industry viable in Florida while protecting threatened ecosystems and wildlife,” said Juan Hernandez, NRCS state conservationist for Florida. “We have several NRCS programs that offer financial and technical assistance to enhance and benefit wildlife through conservation."

“Working in partnership with Conservation Florida and NRCS to acquire a conservation easement on Arbuckle Creek Ranch was a success - protecting working lands, promoting conservation, and enhancing mission sustainability at Avon Park Air Force Range,” said Buck MacLaughlin, Lt. Col., Ret. AF. “Conservation Florida's easement on this property buffers the flight path into Arbuckle Airfield and protects night-time military training by limiting dense construction of incompatible light sources. The ability to operate at night is a distinct advantage that our military forces use while serving our country.”

At a time when Florida is facing intense development pressures, ranchlands are sought after for conversion into large housing developments and planned communities. Conservation Florida has made ranchlands in the Northern Everglades a top protection priority within its Headwaters to Okeechobee regional land and water conservation initiative. 

Arbuckle Creek winds its way through Highlands County toward Lake Okeechobee. Photo by Graham Norman.

“Arbuckle Creek Ranch is an exceptional property,” said Adam Bass, Conservation Florida’s Vice President of Conservation. “It's been a real pleasure working with the Butlers and our partners to get this project over the finish line. At the end of the day, this property's protection is meaningful to the region and we are proud to have worked to see it through."

Arbuckle Creek Ranch is a family-run cow-calf operation where a herd of cattle is managed with the goal of raising calves to sell. It is also home to an endangered cutthroat grass community that spans 300 hundred acres – cutthroat grass is endemic to Florida in the United States and is limited to just five counties in the central Florida peninsula. The natural habitat on the property is also ideal for Florida scrub jays, eastern indigo snakes, and gopher tortoises. Florida panthers, and other endangered Florida species, have been documented on the ranch. 

The Arbuckle Creek Ranch conservation easement project is one of many that Conservation Florida is working on in the Greater Everglades ecosystem. The protection of Arbuckle Creek Ranch reiterates the alignment between Conservation Florida's protection priorities and the DoD’s REPI and NRCS’ ALE programs. Requirements, goals, and funds of each entity were combined to support the same conservation mission, achieving joint outcomes, and the conservation of agricultural land and water resources and strengthening the Air Force mission by protecting land around the high-value military testing and training area.

Arbuckle Creek Ranch is just one success story of the many conservation projects to be permanently protected by Conservation Florida within the Florida Wildlife Corridor in the Northern Everglades region. This vibrant landscape contains historic cattle ranches, sweeping vistas, and vast ecosystems. Because it forms the headwaters of the Greater Everglades, its protection is critical for the future of Florida’s freshwater supply. The Corridor is nearly 17.7 million acres. Of that, 8.1 million acres are identified as conservation opportunities to build a statewide, functional wildlife corridor that’s permanently protected.

About Conservation Florida

Conservation Florida is a statewide accredited land conservancy working to conserve Florida’s water, wildlife, wild places, and protect the Florida Wildlife Corridor. The organization’s conservation projects support Florida’s native plants and wildlife, fresh water, wildlife corridors, family farms and ranches, the economy, and nature-based recreation. Since its founding in 1999, Conservation Florida has prioritized strategic and evidence-based land protection and has saved over 30,000 acres of critical habitat.