Okeechobee County - Thursday September 14, 2023: Conservation Florida, a dynamic leader in statewide land conservation, in partnership with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Department of Defense, has permanently conserved the 2,526-acre Role Tran property (previously known as Triple Diamond Ranch) in Okeechobee County. This protection project further links the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
Partial funding was allocated from the state's Florida Forever program. Funding for this project was approved in January 2023 by Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet in its role as the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund.
"The conservation of land to create a conserved wildlife corridor spanning our state is not only necessary for wildlife such as the Florida panther, black bear, and gopher tortoise, but also for protecting our water, economy, and way of life," said Traci Deen, CEO of Conservation Florida. "We're grateful for our partners at FDEP and DOD, as well as the Lightsey family, for conserving a piece of the corridor puzzle that furthers so many important conservation priorities for Florida."
Located in the Northern Everglades, Role Tran is directly adjacent to the vast Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, acting as an additional linkage to creating a strong and functional Florida Wildlife Corridor that makes up more than 200,000 acres of landscape-sized protection area. Its location near the Avon Park Air Force Range also made it a priority for the U.S. Department of Defense's (DOD) Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration program.
This program serves to support military missions by creating cost-sharing agreements between the military forces and other involved federal agencies, state and local governments, and private conservation organizations. These agreements help prevent land-use conflicts near military installations, address environmental restrictions that limit military activities, and increase resilience to climate change.
“In Florida, we are looking for every opportunity to conserve the wide-open spaces of our state, connect linkages to our forested and natural areas, and overall provide green infrastructure that benefits the natural elements that make Florida so special,” said Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Shawn Hamilton. “It’s important to have public and private partners in this shared vision, and for that we’re thankful for Conservation Florida’s commitment to growing the Florida Wildlife Corridor.”
Role Tran is bordered to the north by the Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park and to the east by the Everglades Headwaters Wildlife Management Area. The property is situated within the Kissimmee River Basin and the headwaters of Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades.
Through the permanent protection of Role Tran, a significant dry prairie has also been conserved, which is critical in the long-term protection of the native natural community and the accompanying species that use it as habitat. The protection of this intact landscape allows for the management of thousands of acres that serve as habitats for rare vertebrate wildlife such as gopher tortoises, considered a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Native flora documented on the property areas include saw palmetto and wax myrtle.