POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Weather-battered signs still pepper the property of “Eagle Haven Ranch,” a peek at what might have been.
“The property hit the market, and it would have been available to anybody,” said Traci Deen, president & CEO of Conservation Florida. “It could have become a marina or a golf course or copy-and-paste homes.”
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She said instead, the 2,317-acre property known as “Eagle Haven Ranch” on Lake Kissimmee near Lake Wales will remain natural land with open fields, native trees, and even wild horses.
“We are so thrilled to have the permanent conservation of Eagle Haven Ranch. It is an extraordinary property,” Deen said. “Places like Eagle Haven Ranch are incredibly special and are being lost. We’re seeing it.”
A few years ago, Deen said Arnie and Lauren Bellini purchased the property as “conservation buyers,” essentially so developers could not buy the land…