Florida Conservation Group facilitated the preservation of 660-acre Ludwig property in the Peace River Watershed through Florida’s Rural and Family Lands Protection Program.
Photo by the Florida Conservation Group
ONA — A 660-acre working ranch in Hardee County is now permanently conserved, protecting water resources, critical wildlife habitat and working agricultural lands in Florida’s Peace River Valley, the Florida Conservation Group announced this week.
The Ludwig property is west of the Peace River, along Brushy Creek, a tributary that flows into the Peace.
The Peace River serves as the water supply for most of Charlotte County and North Port, and supplies freshwater to the Charlotte Harbor estuary.
The land was protected under the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Rural and Family Lands Protection Program, the announcement states.
Keith Ludwig, a first-generation rancher and oceanographic engineer, intends to maintain his cow-calf operation while protecting the ranchland’s natural resources, he stated.
“Conserving Florida’s land and water means protecting working agricultural lands and the natural resources that communities, wildlife and future generations of Floridians will depend on,” Ludwig said in the annoucement. “I want to do my part to conserve this landscape and its water resources for generations to come.”
The Florida Conservation Group facilitated the conservation easement. FCG have now worked with landowners to conserve more than 50,000 acres in the Peace River Valley, including more than 11,000 acres of working agricultural lands in the watershed over the last year, the announcement states.
The Ludwig property’ creeks, wetlands, forests, marshes, grasslands and flatwoods help safeguard water quality, support aquifer recharge, reduce regional flooding and protect wildlife habitat within the Brushy Creek basin and the larger Peace River watershed, which flows through Charlotte Harbor and the Gulf.
Charlotte Harbor has been designated an Estuary of National Significance and is one of Florida’s most productive recreational fisheries.
The Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority provides wholesale drinking water to communities across the region, including Sarasota County, and serves a regional population of more than 900,000 people.
“I know my land is helping to protect our wildlife and our water downstream, and I think that’s incredibly important,” Ludwig added. “I hope to help get more conservation started in this area by inspiring others to participate in the Florida Department of Agriculture’s Rural and Family Lands Protection Program. It’s a good deal for Florida’s taxpayers because we keep running our ranch operations while helping protect wildlife habitat and the watershed.”
Conserving the Ludwig property helps close a gap in the Florida Wildlife Corridor and protects habitat for species including the Florida panther, eastern indigo snake and Florida burrowing owl, according to the Florida Conservation Group.