Cabinet approves $36.1M purchase of Polk County's Creek Ranch property for conservation

The Florida Cabinet has approved the state’s purchase of the 1,342-acre Creek Legacy Ranch property in eastern Polk County for conservation.

The Cabinet, consisting of Gov. Ron DeSantis, Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson, Attorney General Ashley Moody and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, voted Tuesday morning to confirm the purchase through the Florida Forever program. The state will pay the owners $36.1 million.

Patronis cast the only "no" vote. He later questioned the cost of that and two other purchases the Cabinet approved.

Patronis cited a federal judge’s ruling last month in a battle about wetlands permitting, saying it affected the appraised values of the agricultural land the state acquired in Polk, Seminole, Hendry and Collier counties, the News Service of Florida reported.

Creek Legacy Ranch lies just west of Lake Hatchineha in the rapidly developing Poinciana area.

The property’s owners, Bob Adams and Reggie Baxter, purchased the tract in 2022 for $12.4 million.

Florida Forever, a state-funded program created in 2001 and overseen by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, identifies properties with ecological value for potential purchase through a dedicated funding program. The state has purchased more than 900,000 acres for conservation through the program.

The property, operated for decades as a cattle ranch, contains a mixture of habitats. Nearly half of the land is improved pasture featuring alterations to reduce flooding, and about one-quarter is wet flatwoods, according to a report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

A state agency must volunteer to manage any property bought through Florida Forever. The FWC has agreed to be the managing agency for Creek Legacy Ranch. That means the property will likely become a wildlife management area, operated to protect animal species. Such properties are open to the public and allow hunting during specified seasons.

Before beginning negotiations with the state, Adams and Baxter pursued potential development of the parcel’s western portion. The Polk County Commission in September approved a land-use change to allow construction of 1,876 homes, plus retail space. The plan would have reserved 587 acres for conservation.

Most migration in US More people moved to Polk County in 2023 than any other county in US, census data show

The proposal drew fervent opposition from residents of the rural Lake Hatchineha Road area, and a group filed a lawsuit to challenge the County Commission’s decision.

Polk County Public Schools had also considered buying a 100-acre portion of the property to construct a high school.

The Creek Legacy Ranch property lies just north of Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek Preserve State Park, which covers more than 8,000 acres. It is surrounded by other protected tracts, including the Nature Conservancy’s Disney Wilderness Preserve to the northeast and Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Wildlife Management Area to the southeast.

Conservation advocates say the property is crucial to the preservation of the Florida Wildlife Corridor, a ribbon of connected, natural land that allows large animals, particularly Florida black bears and Florida panthers, to roam throughout the peninsula. One section of the corridor extends from Osceola County across Northeast Polk, the area containing Creek Legacy Ranch.

Wildlife officials have tracked the presence of panthers wearing radio collars on the property, and the owners say that evidence of black bears has also been found.

Before the state deal emerged, Polk County was moving toward buying the property for its Environmental Lands Program. The Conservation Land Acquisition Selection Advisory Committee in November rated Creek Legacy Ranch first among five parcels recommended for consideration.

The committee reported the presence of such threatened or protected species as fox squirrels, sand skinks and gopher tortoises. The property contains a 56-acre section of scrub, a disappearing habitat that harbors rare plants and animals.

Adams credited Dean Saunders, a Lakeland-based land broker, with suggesting that he and Baxter offer the property to the state for acquisition through Florida Forever.

The Florida Cabinet approved the acquisition of nearly 28,000 acres at Tuesday's meeting.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Cabinet approves conservation purchase of Polk's Creek Ranch property