Mother and Daughter Fighting for Florida and Family: A new generation of women ranchers are leading the charge

HIGHLANDS COUNTY, Fla. — A woman-owned and operated cattle ranch in Highlands County has been permanently protected from developers, preserving 1,564 acres of working ranchland, wildlife habitat, and a family legacy that stretches back to the 1970s.

Conservation Florida announced in August that Square One Ranch is now protected through a conservation easement secured through a partnership involving the Hinton family, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the U.S. Air Force, and Conservation Florida. The easement allows the property to remain a working cattle ranch while permanently limiting future development.

WATCH BELOW: Fighting for Florida and Family: A new generation of women ranchers

The conservation effort protects habitat for endangered Florida panthers, black bears, bobcats, wood storks, and other native wildlife. Conservation Florida also identified the ranch as an important link in the Florida Wildlife Corridor. It said the property was ranked the highest-priority corridor property for protection by the Florida Ecological Greenways Network.

For ranch owner Daphne Hinton, the land's significance goes beyond cattle and conservation.

"I think more importantly, what does it mean to my children? I have enjoyed this land, and I love it, and it's beautiful. I don't know how many more years the Lord is going to give me here. days? hours? or whatever. But the main thing for them was to keep it in the family."

Hinton's father, Reo Hinton, purchased the property in the 1970s and taught his daughter the ranching business. Today, at 83, she continues to care for the land while thinking about the next generation.

Keeping the ranch intact was not always guaranteed.

Like many Florida landowners sitting on increasingly valuable property, Hinton acknowledged that selling to a developer was an option.

"Could you have sold to a developer?" Tampa Bay 28 reporter Michael Paluska asked Hinton.

"Could I?" Hinton responded sarcastically.

"In a heartbeat," she told Tampa Bay 28 reporter Michael Paluska.

Her daughter, Martile Blackman, pushed to keep the ranch in the family.

"I never thought about selling this place, but my mother did, and I just kept saying no, no, no, because I feel like this is where I want to finish my life out here."

That decision led the family into a three-year conservation effort.

Chelsea Folmar, Director of Land Protection for Conservation Florida, said work on the project began in 2023.

“I saw how happy Ms. Daphne was. She gave us a tour of this beautiful property. It took three years (to finish the project)?" Paluska asked.

“So we started this journey in 2023, getting them on the Rural Family Lands Act. So, that's with the state of Florida through the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services," Folmar said. "And, then last year we were able to start the acquisition. So, that's really when we got the ball rolling and all the specifics and all of the big conversations about what we want to hold on to for this property."

In 2025, Paluska toured AP Ranch with Folmar a property right next to Square One. At the time, Folmar told Paluska the owner of the ranch next door was considering selling to a developer. Fast forward a year, and we now know Hinton decided against it. Now, Square One Ranch expands the Florida Wildlife Corridor, connecting thousands of acres of protected lands in Highlands County. The property sits in the heart of panther territory.

“What type of animals have you seen out here?” Paluska asked.

"We’ve confirmed panthers on trail cameras; we know we have bears and bobcats," Folmar said. "We just passed a gopher tortoise; there are so many animals that can use these varieties of habitats."

For conservationists, protecting large working ranches has become increasingly important as Florida's population continues to grow and open land disappears.

"You can’t get this back. I understand all the options on the table, and to sell is a lot of money, but to preserve it and hold onto it and to pass this on is really special"

The easement was funded through two major conservation programs: Florida's Rural and Family Lands Protection Program and the U.S. Air Force's Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program.

The ranch is also located within the Avon Park Sentinel Landscape, where conservation actions support both wildlife habitat and military readiness at the Avon Park Air Force Range.

For the Hinton family, one of the biggest benefits of the easement is that life on the ranch can continue much as it always has.

"We can still do everything that we do normally, except put a Love’s truck stop up on the front," Hinton said.

Today, Hinton and Blackman continue to operate the ranch, and they say women are more than capable of running a successful cattle operation.

“Women-owned and operated? Paluska asked.

“Yeah,” Blackman said with a smile.

“I've interviewed a lot of cowboys, but women can do it just as good,” Paluska noted.

“I tell you, when you've got a phone, you say, pick up and say, I want this done. Anybody can. You got the wisdom behind it, and then you got the manpower, the magic finger. You do this and you do that. That's what it takes,” Blackman said.

The ranch's history defines the past and future for generations to come.

"I know that Granddaddy is looking down and smiling at how well we've taken care of the property,” Blackman said. “Because I know that's what he had in mind the whole time, and it's just really exciting that now we can do that.”

As Hinton reflects on the future, she said she finds comfort in knowing the land she loves will remain protected long after she is gone.

"When I'm dead and gone, if there's any truth to what Christians believe, I want them to know that I am watching every move they make," Hinton said.