Deal would expand state forest land
Source: OrlandoSentinel.com, by Kevin Spear
September 10, 2007
Rare ranch sale also would leave owners acreage to develop
After 120 years of raising cattle on land now treasured by environmentalists, the Yarborough family is on the verge of selling a big piece of its ranch in a deal that could preserve much of the property but open a major piece for development.
If approved Tuesday, the St. Johns River Water Management District will pay $30 million for 5,040 acres -- nearly 8 square miles -- of Yarborough ranch land in east Seminole County and add it to the nearby Little Big Econ State Forest.
The price was reduced by nearly $15 million because the family will get to keep valuable development rights. That could lead to homes and offices on 1,349 acres of ranch the Yarboroughs will still own.
"It's not unprecedented, but it's unusual," said Robert Christianson, who directs the water authority's efforts to purchase land. "This is the kind of creative deal I think we'll see more of."
A similar, though much larger, deal occurred last year in southwest Florida, where the state paid $350 million to buy and protect 74,000 acres of Babcock Ranch. While stunning just for its size, the deal drew attention and controversy because it also paved the way for a developer to build nearly 20,000 homes in corners of the ranch not bought by the state.
Such attempts at land conservation, where the larger portion of a tract is protected and the smaller portion is developed, are widely expected to gain momentum in coming years.
In large part, that's because the state Department of Environmental Protection has spent or committed nearly all of its remaining $300 million in Florida Forever program money for land purchases. That pool of money has been key in securing major land deals.
Gov. Charlie Crist and the state Cabinet recently told the Department of Environmental Protection to find other ways to acquire land. Possibilities so far talked about within the DEP include land exchanges, donations and help from private and federal partners -- but not new sources of money.
"Everybody is trying very hard to do land conservation at a time when there's no money," said George Willson, a consultant who works with landowners and environmental groups in deals similar to what the Yarboroughs are considering. "I think the concept is something you'll see a whole lot more while we don't have any Florida Forever money."
In a more ideal world for the Yarboroughs, the deal never would have taken shape.
Two brothers, ranch hands nearly since the age of diapers, grew up expecting to inherit and then pass on to their children a ranch where the Econlockhatchee River meets the St. Johns River.
There, the St. Johns offers stunning, wide-open views of marsh, while the Econ snakes through wilderness as a current of inky water confined by sandbars and steep banks.
In 1990, Ed Yarborough, father of the two brothers, told the Orlando Sentinel that the ranch would stay in family hands.
"I haven't got 1 inch of land for sale," said the father, who died in 2000 at age 69.
At the ranch last week, his sons took a few moments to respond when asked what they will miss most.
"That's a hard call," said J.W., 42, looking down.
"Just not owning it," said Bo, 46, who then walked away.
For all the acres owned by the Yarboroughs, raising calves for the beef industry has brought in enough cash to pay family expenses and for ranch operations but little more.
When their father died, inheritance taxes were bad enough. Since then, the value of the land -- and for most property in Florida -- has inflated dramatically. Now they fear they will lose the ranch because of taxes when their mother, Imogene, 72, passes away.
That is not expected anytime soon. She has a stronger voice and a firmer handshake grip than her burly sons.
"That's everyday talk for us," she said. "Not to be morbid, but that's just a way of life, talking about inheritance taxes."
The family takes pride in stewardship of the land, which teems with massive snapping turtles, swallowtail kites, black bears and other wildlife.
From wisdom gathered by each generation, the family has learned to live according to the land. In particular, the Yarboroughs understand the fine balance of managing herds large enough to earn income but small enough to withstand the droughts and floods that come every few years.
They worry that the ranch will suffer under public ownership because the state has too few people and not enough cash to manage all the land it now owns. The nearby Little Big Econ State Forest is set to expand from a current 5,048 acres to nearly 20,000 acres with the addition of Yarborough land and two large tracts to the south.
Yet the deal pitched by the water authority puts the Yarboroughs in the odd position of deciding whether to add to the suburban sprawl that has paved so much of eastern Seminole near their ranch.
With the transfer of development rights provided by the deal, the Yarboroughs could be entitled to build as many as 300 homes on the 1,349 acres they will continue to own. Seminole County authorities will have to approve several steps leading to any development.
The Yarboroughs said they will continue ranching for the time being and do not know when or whether they will use the development rights. Bo Yarborough pondered that possibility for a moment as he sliced a palmetto frond with a razor-sharp pocketknife.
"You'd be a fool if you didn't consider that option," he said.
Kevin Spear can be reached at kspearr@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5062.
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