It’s a thrill to find yourself lost in your own backyard—and that’s how it feels when you drive out to the aptly named Lost Girl Prairie, a new ranch owned by Jim Strickland and his wife Julie Morris on Rexrode Road in eastern Sarasota and Manatee Counties.

The Lost Girl spread falls under a federal conservation easement, overseen by the United States Department of Agriculture and granted to properties that conserve agricultural lands and wetlands. Strickland and Morris purchased Lost Girl Prairie’s 1,300 acres to prove that business owners and environmentalists can work together to preserve Florida’s greatest resource—its dwindling parcels of untamed land. Together, the couple aim to protect this property, and others around the state, from development, which continues to creep farther and farther into inland Florida.

Morris, 50, has devoted her career to conservation and founded the Florida Conservation Group in Nokomis in 2015. Since then, the organization has helped preserve nearly 86,000 acres of Florida land through conservation easements, which entitle property owners to financial benefits in exchange for agreeing to limit construction and manage natural ecosystems on their land. Morris’ most recent focus has been on bridging the gap between farmers and conservationists, who often feel at odds with one another, and helping them understand that they share a similar goal—preserving natural Florida.

“It has always been my dream to have a ranch, and this was my opportunity to show how cattle and conservation can coexist,” Morris says. “Many people don’t realize that our ranches are wild spaces. Working with ranchers and having this property helped me to better understand the challenges the industry faces, especially in light of rampant development.”

Through her organization’s efforts, Morris met Strickland, 69, a sixth-generation Florida cattle rancher. He owns and works thousands of acres of land, including Strickland Ranch and Blackbeard’s Ranch, the latter of which has been recognized by both the Audubon Society and the federal government for its sustainability efforts. Morris and Strickland married in October 2023 and bought Lost Girl Prairie the following month.

While Strickland is a rancher at heart, conservation has been near and dear to him since his youth, when he realized developers were pushing his family’s business inland, bit by bit. With his family history and industry bona fides, he acts as a liaison with other Florida ranchers, helping Morris gain credibility with farmers who may initially be skeptical of her conservation efforts.

Strickland and Morris have brought 100 head of cattle onto the Lost Girl Prairie property and will soon offer ecotourism experiences and educational tours. Lost Girl’s name was inspired by Richard Powell’s 1962 novel I Take This Land, which details Southwest Florida’s history via the story of Lost Girl Swamp, a once-thriving natural habitat that transitioned into hunting grounds and farmland before eventually being drained.

“Because of the lack of funding for landowners, farmers and others, we’ve lost so much,” Morris says. “If we want to protect native species, we have to remember that farmland can and does provide natural habitats.”

Lost Girl Prairie isn’t just about education; it will also be a working farm, and Strickland plans to double the property’s cattle head count. The cows will be grass-fed, from birth to slaughter, all right on the property. “It isn’t just about the cows or the beef,” Strickland says. “To support the animals, it’s also about aquifer recharge and carbon sequestrations. All those things lend themselves to the story of the product.”

Before Strickland and Morris can open their land to the public, which they hope to do later this year, they need to restore it back to its original ecology, which includes reestablishing native plants and making other improvements to the property’s hydrology. Under the easement’s strict regulations, they won’t be allowed to build so much as a bathroom onsite. Once the land is restored, the hope is that it will attract native animals to return. Morris says the ecosystem is a prime spot for ducks and other migratory birds, as well as the endangered grasshopper sparrow. Strickland adds that there are also loads of alligators nearby; he’s counted as many as 50 in a single pond.

“We’re learning a lot here,” Morris says. “But when we get this done, it’s going to be perfect, and we’ll be able to tell this story. We need this pristine land and we need to say no to developers. We become stronger when we work together.”

For more information about Lost Girl Prairie, visit lostgirlprairie.org.