Conserving Farm Lands Forever

Conserving FARM LANDS FOREVER

By Alex Lucas, Communications Coordinator

BLACKBEARD’S RANCH is a 4,500-acre working cow-calf operation located on the Myakka Prairie in Manatee County.

One of the largest intact parcels of land in the region, it faces many pressures of development and urban sprawl. The owners are committed to the conservation and preservation of this and other farm lands around the state.

Managing partner Jim Strickland is committed to pursuing conservation easements with the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program and Florida Forever.

Created in 2001 and housed in the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program is an agricultural

land preservation program designed to protect important agricultural lands through the acquisition of permanent conservation easements. Under the auspices of the program, these agricultural lands will be protected from development as long as they exist.

Similarly, the Forever Florida program is another avenue to sell development rights to the state. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection manages conservation easements through this program.

“Simply, through a conservation easement, a landowner may transfer

development rights through many programs provided by the government. There are a lot of avenues and organizations to partner with to get a conservation easement,” said Strickland.

Strickland, a passionate advocate for ranching and conservation, says that in his opinion there is no closer thing to natural Florida than cattle ranches. If you drive through the property of Blackbeard’s Ranch, you can see why.

With native plants and an oak canopy with a sprinkling of palm trees, it is hard to imagine a place more “Floridian” than this ranch.

Upon purchase of the ranch in 2014, an intensive restoration program was implemented. This restoration program included restoring wetlands, which flow from the ranch into the Myakka State Park and waterways downstream.

“We work with the water management districts. Anything we do that involves an ecological impact, we have oversight. When we restored the drainage system, it was a system that we needed to make sense. We have corrected the drainage system that creates wetlands where they are meant to be,” said Strickland.

Strickland hopes that the ranch will be an example of good environmental stewardship, conservation and a tool for research. He also hopes that the ranch will be a way to educate the public on the importance of ranches to Florida’s wildlife, green space and the quality of life.

“On the ranch, we like to do these conservation projects because it is the right thing to do,” said Strickland.

After restoration began on the ranch’s wetlands, native species and wildlife flourished, giving opportunity for many research projects to be conducted on the property. The ranch has partnered with the researchers from the University of Florida and the

University of South Florida on projects related to water quality, burrowing owls, coyotes and soil and forage.

Strickland is also the owner of Strickland Ranch and is involved in managing several other properties in the area which are also heavily involved in conservation projects.

In all of the ranches that Strickland manages, one thing remains a constant: his desire to see Florida ranches and native lands preserved. He has dedicated his career to conserving the land and doing what is right for the ranches and the environment.

While Blackbeard’s Ranch’s primary focus is the cow-calf operation, the ranch has diversified into various agricultural endeavors. This demonstrates the ability of conservation and sustainable agriculture coming together to feed the state and the nation. These additional enterprises include raising Mangalitsa Pigs, operating a brewery and producing wildflower honey.

The conservation easements help protect water and provide green space in the state. Florida’s farms and ranches provide natural water filters and also help protect wildlife.

“Conservation easements are a tool that ranch owners can utilize to be environmental stewards while maintaining an agricultural operation,” commented Jim Handley, executive director of the Florida Cattlemen’s Association.

Strickland stresses the importance of conservation easements around the state. With the human population of Florida growing and placing more pressure on Florida’s water supply and ecosystem, there continues to be a need to protect Florida’s farms and ranches.

“Ranchers are excellent environmental stewards. Through entering a conservation easement agreement, they know that their property would be preserved in ranching and farming for future generations,” said Handley.