Wildlands Conservation Inc. has landed a $10 million federal grant aimed at protecting thousands of acres of environmentally important land along the Lake Wales Ridge in Polk County, a stretch of Florida known for hosting some of the state's rarest plants and wildlife. The nonprofit's award is expected to be matched by a similar amount from county and state land-protection programs, and the five-year effort is set to begin identifying priority properties for conservation in 2027.
According to Tampa Bay 28, the grant will be combined with county and state resources to bring the total funding and resources to more than $20 million. The outlet reports the conservation effort aims to protect between 3,500 and 5,000 acres over its five-year span, with Dave Sumpter, executive director of Wildlands Conservation, leading the push to secure land along the ridge before development claims it.
A separate federal award totals $25 million.
Why the Ridge Matters for Water and Wildlife
The Lake Wales Ridge has a unique collection of plants and animals found nowhere else in the world, per the station's report. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission describes the broader Lake Wales Ridge Wildlife and Environmental Area as home to a mix of natural communities critical to wildlife, including scrub, pine flatwoods, marshes and seepage slopes, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
That same agency notes that rainfall percolating through the ridge's thick, sandy soils recharges the aquifer. Tampa Bay 28 reports that the ridge system also serves as a recharge area for the Everglades, calling it critical to the health and sustenance of Florida's hydrology and water quality — meaning preserving the land helps protect the state's water resources far beyond Polk County's borders.
A Rancher's Three-Year Effort to Protect Her Land
For Diane Starling, the new funding adds momentum to a personal campaign already years in the making. Her family has raised cattle on her property for generations, and she has spent three years working to place her property and nearby land under a conservation easement, the same report notes.
A conservation easement can permanently restrict development while allowing landowners to retain ownership, according to the station's reporting. Starling has encouraged neighbors and friends to help preserve the area, saying she wants the property to remain undeveloped and that each person can do a little something to try to save the area.
Development Pressure Driving Urgency Across Polk County
The push comes as conservationists work to protect natural habitats and maintain connections between properties so wildlife can continue moving through the region, per Tampa Bay 28's reporting. Polk County has moved on similar fronts before: in 2022, a 320-acre property gained protection from potential development through a conservation easement funded with county money and a $242,500 Florida Defense Support Task Force grant, as reported by The Ledger.
A Polk County commissioner described development pressure in the area as rapid, saying the environment is being turned over to development at an incredible rate, according to a separate Ledger report on the county's 2024 approval of a $24 million purchase of the 1,195-acre Masterpiece Road property northeast of Lake Wales, which also sits along the ridge and includes sandhill and scrub habitat. Weeks later, commissioners approved buying the 649-acre Friedlander property east of Lake Wales for $5.19 million, described as the second acquisition under a revived county land conservation program.
Conservation Florida, a separate nonprofit, has said it helped preserve more than 30,000 acres of land since its 1999 founding and was seeking to protect more than 100,000 additional acres, including projects in Polk and Highlands counties. For now, the new Wildlands Conservation effort is still in its early stages, with identifying priority properties expected to begin in 2027.
