Yarborough Ranch acquired by Florida Forever

Governor Ron DeSantis and his cabinet on Tuesday, March 26 officially approved the Yarborough Ranch acquisition through the state’s Florida Forever program.

The 1,361 acres will be purchased for $34.5 million, and “will be managed by the Florida Forest Service as part of the Little Big Econ State Forest,” according to a news release by the governor’s office announcing all of the properties approved for purchase.

“Florida continues to lead the way in land conservation and protecting our natural resources,” DeSantis said in the release. “These protections will further protect our natural lands for Florida’s families to enjoy for generations to come.”

From the release:

The acquisition of 1,361 acres within the Yarborough Ranch Florida Forever Project in Seminole County will protect the Econlockhatchee River and Geneva Freshwater Lens, which provides drinking water for county residents. This property is surrounded by existing conservation land, thereby providing a critical linkage for a variety of imperiled species, including the Florida black bear. It will be managed by the Florida Forest Service as part of the Little Big Econ State Forest. This property is within the Florida Wildlife Corridor and, when it is acquired, this Florida Forever project will be complete.

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The previous story explaining the process as the land waited for the final step in the process is below:

A key piece of Seminole County land is on its way to being placed in conservation by the state of Florida.

Through its Florida Forever program, the state’s approval for the purchase of the remaining 1,361 acres of the Yarborough Ranch property in Geneva is going to be in front of Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection Board of Trustees on March 26. It would allow the state to acquire a piece of land that provides a key connection point in the Florida Wildlife Corridor following more than a year of uncertainty.

Florida Forever, which acquires land throughout the state to put in conservation, is asking the board for $34.5 million for the purchase, and staff has recommended it be approved, according to the meeting agenda. Acquiring the property “will help to preserve and ensure the water quality of the Big Econlockhatchee Drainage Basin and the Geneva Freshwater Lens,” according to the agenda description.

While the Yarborough family previously sold about 5,000 acres to the St. Johns Water Management District in the early 2000s, the remaining acreage stayed in the family’s ownership as a working cattle ranch. Over the last year-plus, the family had entertained offers from developers, but worked with the county and state, as well, with the hope of keeping it in conservation.

The ranch was added to Florida Forever’s Partnerships and Regional Incentives list in December, less than a year after the county submitted its application for the list. If approved and purchased as expected, it would be among the fastest timeframes for a property to be acquired by the program.  

“Normally it takes sometimes four to five years, if ever, for a piece of land to get on their priority list, so that it was done in record time is a demonstration of the state’s commitment to putting this land in conservation,” Katrina Shadix, conservation activist and founder of the citizen group Bear Warriors United, said in January. “This is a huge accomplishment. It’s a huge victory.”

Seminole County officials agree with the sentiment. 

“[Approval] would be a huge win for Seminole County,” Rick Durr, Director of Seminole County’s Leisure Services Department, said. “The fact that the state picked up this application and really ran with it, it’s a testament to … the folks at the state looking at this.”

Durr said that the fact that the ranch sits directly in the wildlife corridor “assisted in the acquisition of this property.

”It helped us tremendously in our application for the purchase of the Yarborough property at the state level to be able to show its relationship to the corridor,” Durr said. “The fact that it’s actually within the corridor boundaries was a huge plus.”

The Florida Wildlife Corridor is “a statewide network of nearly 18 million acres of connected lands and waters supporting wildlife and people,” according to its website. 

The concept the county put forward with its application for the property’s usage included it potentially being managed as part of the Little Big Econ State Forest. The entrance for the forest is across the street from the land that would be acquired.

Additionally, the Yarborough family hopes to have the main house on the property preserved, possibly as an education center, Durr said. 

“But what really moves something up the list at the state level is if you have a willing seller,” he said. “[That they] want to move on this property and sell it, not something down the road, but it’s available now.

”We were told by state staff that was a huge positive for Seminole County and the Yarboroughs,” he said. 

The county had previously worked on a plan for acquiring the land if it wasn’t picked up by Florida Forever, which would have been an option agreement that would have included an initial payment — potentially close to $3.4 million — to take the property off the market, then yearly payments for a period of three to four years until the county would have owned it. 

Florida Forever is “Florida’s premier conservation and recreation lands acquisition program; a blueprint for conserving Florida’s natural and cultural heritage,” according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection website. The state has purchased more than 900,000 acres since 2001.

Be sure to follow Oviedo Community News’ ongoing coverage about the Yarborough Ranch as it moves through the process of being sold and possibly turned into a conservation area. 

• Yarborough Ranch property takes step closer to conservation
• Residents trek to Volusia to fight for Yarborough Ranch
• County, citizen groups working separately for purchase of Yarborough Ranch land
• 300-home Yarborough project meeting approaching