CMP Partners  

 

Babcock Ranch Management, LLC Babcock Ranch, Inc. Prime Contractor Pandion Systems, Inc. Sub-Contractors Water & Air Research, Inc. Natural Resource
Planning Services, Inc.

The Babcock Ranch Preserve (BRP) was purchased in 2006 by the State of Florida and Lee County as part of a public-private partnership. The 73,236-acre parcel is the single largest purchase of conservation land in the state’s history.

Located in Lee and Charlotte counties, the western boundary of the BRP is contiguous with the Fred C. Babcock – Cecil M. Webb Wildlife Management Area and is near the Fisheating Creek Wildlife Management Area to the east. View the BRP General Location
Map.

The BRP was purchased with the purpose of protecting a wide array of natural resource values and providing for compatible public recreation while continuing to operate a historic working Florida ranch. The majority of the BRP is a working ranch with existing business and activities, including cattle, forestry, row crops, turf grass, tourism, and recreation. Portions of the BRP are open to the public for tourism and recreation.

Natural communities on the BRP are primarily pine flatwoods and prairie ecosystems interspersed with cypress domes straddling the large Telegraph Swamp, which drains southward toward the Caloosahatchee River. Protected species documented as occurring within the BRP include the Gopher Tortoise, Crested Caracara, Short-tailed Hawk, Swallow-tailed Kite, Great Egret, White Ibis, Wood Stork, Florida burrowing owl, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Sherman’s Fox Squirrel, Florida Panther, and Florida Black Bear.

BRP contributes to a land corridor between Lake Okeechobee and the Gulf of Mexico comprised of both public conservation lands and lands under private stewardship. In total there are over 400,000 acres of public lands within 30 miles of BRP. The water quality of the BRP’s Telegraph Swamp and Creek also contribute to the health of the western Everglades ecosystem, particularly the Caloosahatchee River and Charlotte Harbor estuary.

Ownership of the BRP includes the State of Florida, Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund (portion located in Charlotte County) and the Lee County Board of County Commissioners (portion located in Lee County).

The BRP will be managed in accordance with the purposes and requirements of the Babcock Ranch Preserve Act (Management Prospectus): Florida Statutes 259.1053, 259.1052, and 259.10521.

According to a Management Agreement executed as a condition of the sale, Babcock Ranch Management LLC (a private corporation) will retain management of the ranching operations during the term of the agreement (up to ten years) in cooperation with Babcock Ranch Inc. (a not-for-profit corporation established by the Babcock Ranch Preserve Act). When the Management Agreement ends, Babcock Ranch, Inc. will assume management responsibility of the BRP. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Florida Division of Forestry are managing agencies acting in a technical advisory role.

For more information on the Babcock Ranch Preserve, see the CMP Resource Scoping Summary for BRP and the BRP Purchase Fact Sheet.