An additional 501 acres in the Charlie Creek area in northeastern Hardee County is expect to gain additional protection through the expansion of the acreage in conservation easements on a private ranch.
The option to proceed was approved at a recent Florida Cabinet meeting under the state’s Rural and Family Lands program.
The purchase price for the easement was $1.4 million, half of which may be covered by funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Program.
The property reportedly contains gopher tortoise, Sherman’s fox squirrel, burrowing owl and sandhill crane and lies in section of a statewide wildlife corridor that allows for the dispersion of other wide-ranging species such as Florida black bear.
This is one of a series of purchases of conservation easements that have occurred on this property, the Charlie Creek Ranch, and on other private tracts in the area since 2017.
Conservation easements are voluntary purchases of development rights that provide cash to property owners while allowing them to continue traditional multi-generational agricultural activities.