A 5,610-acre stretch of a multigenerational Florida ranch will remain protected from future development after state officials approved a $12.9 million conservation easement. The Hendrie Ranch easement was approved by Florida’s Governor and Cabinet on December 17, 2024, as part of the state’s Rural and Family Lands Protection Program. The protected parcel covers approximately 5,610.26 acres in Highlands County, along U.S. Highway 27 near Venus, with the state paying $12.9 million for the conservation easement. State records put the purchase price at about $2,300 per acre.
Details from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), Florida Department of Environmental Protection records and the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation show the agreement will preserve Hendrie Ranch while allowing its agricultural operations to continue. The arrangement does not turn the ranch into a public preserve or end its agricultural use. Instead, the easement limits future development while the Hendrie family can continue using the land for cattle, hay production and timber harvesting.
The Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation notes that the ranch supports about 600 beef cattle and has been used for scientific research. The Rural and Family Lands Protection Program, established in 2001, uses conservation easements to protect agricultural properties while allowing landowners to continue farming, ranching and forestry. The December 2024 approvals represented a major expansion of the state’s protected working-land portfolio.
The ranch is also connected to a broader conservation landscape, sitting near several protected properties and the Archbold Biological Station. Its habitat is significant for a range of wildlife. Records identify species including the Florida scrub-jay, sandhill crane, Florida mouse and Sherman’s fox squirrel, alongside Florida black bears. The property also provides habitat within a landscape important for species such as the Florida panther.
A separate 663-acre portion of the ranch received protection through a conservation easement approved in 2022. Hendrie Ranch has actually been part of Florida’s conservation efforts before this latest agreement.
That earlier project was also tied to the Florida Wildlife Corridor and Lake Wales Ridge conservation landscape.