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State Agrees To Protect Seminole County Ranch Land

Photo courtesy the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Photo courtesy the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

Seminole County ranch land is among nearly 3,000 acres now protected from future development.

The land will be protected under conservation easements just agreed upon by the Florida Cabinet.

The easements protect the land from future development while allowing the landowner to remain. Nearly 1,300 acres in rural Seminole County will be protected.

Kilbee Ranch resides in one of the latest conservation easements and has been operated by the same family since the 1920s.

The land shares a boundary with the Little Big Econlockhatchee State Forest and is home to the threatened gopher tortoise and other wildlife.

The Cabinet also voted to protect 1,600 acres in Collier County.

Amy Green covered the environment for WMFE until 2023. Her work included the 2020 podcast DRAINED.