Environment

Florida Wildlife Corridor has 1,500 more acres preserved for panthers to roam in Highlands County

WUSF | By Jessica Meszaros

Published August 7, 2026 at 7:00 AM EDT

Square One Ranch in Highlands County, about 1,500 acres, has now been preserved through a conservation easement as part of Florida's Wildlife Corridor.

In Florida's Heartland, hundreds of acres are newly conserved as part of the Florida Wildlife Corridor, which is roughly 18 million acres — stretching from the Everglades up to Georgia and Alabama.

A map of conserved lands (dark green) within the entire Florida Wildlife Corridor (light green).

Panther paw print on the property of Square One Ranch, which is now officially preserved as part of a green highway used by Florida's roaming animals.

"It is sort of a green highway, if you will, throughout our state that wildlife use to roam," said Traci Deen, president and CEO of Conservation Florida.

Shielding this land from development protects green space, water quality, and endangered species like the Florida panther.

ALSO READ: Florida Forever land-buying program gets no state money next year

Black bears, bobcats, and other wildlife also use it to travel safely while mating, hunting, and raising young.

Deen's organization helped a family-owned cattle ranch, called Square One Ranch, in Highlands County get about $6 million combined from state and federal funds in exchange for agreeing to never develop their 1,564-acre property through a voluntary conservation easement.

Florida's Rural and Family Lands Protection Program contributed $4.1 million, while $2 million was provided through the U.S. Air Force's Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program.

"This … property … is also a critical connector piece in that corridor landscape," Deen said.

While Square One Ranch connects to easements in the north, it's adjacent to AP Ranch, which is another working cattle operation protected by Conservation Florida in 2024.

ALSO READ: Third Florida panther killed in less than three weeks was likely hit by a vehicle

Both properties together add up to over 2,500 acres of continuous wildlife corridor.

"And these properties are adjacent to Archibald Biological Station," she added.

"Truly, it's acre by acre that we're working to conserve Florida, and it's a mission we're really proud of," Deen said.

Only 10 million of the corridor's 18 million total acres are officially preserved, so Deen said to keep the corridor intact, they need to do this 20 times over from Pensacola down to the Keys.

"We've got about 7 to 8 million acres left that are opportunities," she said.