Triangle Ranch

11/18/2023

Great day for a hay ride. Thanks for the visit Sarasota Farm City.

11/12/2023

We are excited to announce February availability is now open for online booking. Stay tuned to see the March schedule that will be released next month.
You can see our full availability and packages with booking details on our website with the link below.
https://go.theflybook.com/book/867/ListView/0 #/base/867/bfacaa1a-4d81-4989-9b89-908a752dcb33/listview

10/20/2023

10/20/2023

The conservationist and philanthropist works to ensure that children today, and in the future, can experience nature the way she did.

10/20/2023

At Triangle Ranch, LLC, we believe in immersing yourself in nature and disconnecting from the world. Our property boasts 1,153 acres of conservation lands that are perfect for bird watching, kayaking, fishing, star gazing, and exploring the beautiful wilderness of Myakka City, Florida.

10/20/2023

Check out our new website.

At Triangle Ranch, LLC, we believe in immersing yourself in nature and disconnecting from the world. Our property boasts 1,153 acres of conservation lands that are perfect for bird watching, kayaking, fishing, star gazing, and exploring the beautiful wilderness of Myakka City, Florida.

02/16/2023

Interesting study regarding wetland management.

14-Year Wetland Study

Archbold’s Buck Island Ranch is home to over 600 seasonal wetlands. These wetlands are embedded within intensively managed improved pastures (IMP) or extensively managed semi-native pastures (SNP). IMPs contain large ditch networks for drainage and non-native grass plantings that require fertilizer. In contrast, SNPs retain a majority of native vegetation and lower cow stocking. These contrasting environmental conditions affect the composition of wetland plant communities.

A new study published in the journal Ecological Applications by Dr. Gregory Sonnier, Archbold Assistant Research Biologist, Dr. Betsey Boughton, Archbold Agroecology Director, and previous intern Ruth Whittington, evaluated a 14-year data set to assess pasture management, livestock grazing, and prescribed fire impacts on wetland vegetation. The study (link below) showed that SNP wetlands had a higher number of native plant species, whereas IMP wetlands had lower overall diversity with a few dominant species and a significant proportion of non-native species.

The study also showed that 14 years of cattle exclusion and frequent prescribed fires were not enough to restore IMP wetlands highlighting the importance of not converting SNP to IMPs. In their study, grazing promoted plant species richness in both IMPs and SNPs because it allows short forbs to coexist with larger clonal grasses while controlling tree and shrub encroachment. They found a higher functional diversity (i.e., diversity in plant life history traits) in grazed wetlands because grazing selects different life history strategies.

They write, "To our knowledge, this represents one of the longest-running experiments testing the effects of cattle removal, management intensity, and prescribed fires on 40 whole wetlands."

https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eap.2732

Caption: Wetland in semi-native pasture at Buck Island Ranch. Photo by Gregory Sonnier.

This story was just featured in our Archbold January Update news. Click here to subscribe:
https://www.archbold-station.org/html/events/newsletter.cfm

12/07/2022

Morning has broken
Gates open at 9 a.m.

10/30/2022

Hurricane Ian clean up day was a success. Thank you to all that helped make the ranch beautiful again.

10/30/2022

Thank you to everyone that helped clean up the ranch today.

10/10/2022

Even in the aftermath of such a destructive storm, Triangle Ranch remains a vital source of food for our ecosystem.

Clean-up has begun so that we can continue to share the wildlife and nature of Florida with all our human guests. We hope to open again in mid-November.