A 5,610-acre portion of Hendrie Ranch in Highlands County has been permanently protected from future development through a $12.9 million conservation easement approved by Florida’s Governor and Cabinet in December 2024.
The easement covers about 5,610.26 acres along U.S. Highway 27 near Venus. It was purchased through Florida’s Rural and Family Lands Protection Program, which uses conservation easements to preserve agricultural land while allowing ranching, farming and forestry to continue.
For the Hendrie family, that means the ranch can remain a working operation. Cattle grazing, hay production and timber harvesting are permitted under the agreement; the land is not being converted into a public preserve.
The family has managed the ranch for more than 65 years. According to the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation, the property supports about 600 beef cattle and has also been used for scientific research.
Hendrie Ranch lies on the eastern slope of the southern Lake Wales Ridge and within the Florida Wildlife Corridor. State records say wetlands account for roughly 48% of the easement area, with the remaining land including pasture, pine flatwoods, scrub, wetland forests and other upland or agricultural areas.
The property is near other protected land and Archbold Biological Station. Reported wildlife on the ranch includes Florida scrub-jays, sandhill cranes, Florida mice, Sherman’s fox squirrels and Florida black bears, and the surrounding landscape is important for species including the Florida panther.
This is not the first conservation agreement involving the ranch: a separate 663-acre portion received protection through an easement approved in 2022. The new agreement adds a much larger area while retaining the property’s agricultural use.
