Conserving the Ludwig Property Protects Florida’s Water and Wildlife
Tucked into the grasslands and hardwood forests of the Peace River Valley in Hardee County is a picturesque 660-acre tract of working ranchland known as the Ludwig property. The property, which sits along Brushy Creek just west of the Peace River, will now be conserved in perpetuity. That’s because Keith…
C&G Cattle: Where Cattle, Panthers and the Peace River Share the Same Ground
Drive the back roads of Hardee County and the landscape reads like a page out of old Florida. Mesic flatwoods give way to open marsh. Forested wetlands crowd the banks of Charlie Creek, which flows to the Peace River and ultimately toward Charlotte Harbor. It is both wild and working…Preserving Osceola Pines for Osceola Turkey
One could call John Nash an accidental forester. The Bradenton native took a meandering path to the world of trees and timber that now dominate his life in rural Levy County. Nash set out on his path because he fell in love with hunting wild turkey, and discovered through some…Florida Ranchlands: Conserving Water and Wildlife
Prior to the late 1800s, natural Florida consisted of a mosaic of uninterrupted pine flatwoods, swamps, and prairies intertwined with free-flowing rivers. This water-dominated landscape supported a type of wilderness that was uniquely “Florida,” where an abundance of diverse wildlife thrived. Large flocks of wading birds inhabited wetlands and prairies,…Protecting the Peace River Watershed is a Race Against Time
As ranchers, Clay Smith’s family has always had a “land ethic”—a commitment to caring for and protecting the land. The family’s cattle and citrus operation in Hardee County, has been in operation since the 1850s. Smith, who is both rancher and pastor, recalls that his grandparents and other family elders…Rural Land Protection: Well Worth the Cost
Ned Hancock and his family of growers and cattlemen on Charlie Creek in rural Hardee County know there’s one thing none of them should do if they want to get to heaven: sell their land. Hancock’s great-aunt, the second generation of Hancocks to farm their little slice of paradise in…
