$7.5M Agreement Secures Southwest Florida Ranchlands

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is putting $7.5 million toward protecting two ranches that stretch four miles along the Peace River. They’re not buying the land itself; instead, they’re purchasing the development rights through a conservation easement. That means the land stays in private hands, but no one can turn it into subdivisions or strip malls.

These properties, C&D Ranch and Rock Bend Ranch, cover almost 1,300 acres, about one and a half times the size of Central Park. The land hugs the river in DeSoto and Hardee counties, with about half of it made up of wetlands. Those wetlands are more than pretty scenery; they filter pollutants out before the water runs downstream into Charlotte Harbor.

Both ranches lie within the Florida Wildlife Corridor. Saving these acres under the Florida Forever program adds to over a million acres already protected since voters approved the program back in 1998. 

This move doesn’t just preserve open space; it keeps a vital natural system running and gives taxpayers direct control over the land’s future.