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About the Film

By horseback, foot, and paddleboard three friends trek across Florida's imperiled backbone. The Lake Wales Ridge is an ancient ribbon of sand dunes that is a hotspot for biodiversity found nowhere else in the world. It is also a place steeped in a long tradition of agricultural heritage. Both are threatened by the rapid pace of change in Florida's wild interior. But can the backbone be held together? To experience this place and to meet the passionate stewards who call it home offers insight and inspiration on how we may one day bridge THE WILD DIVIDE.

Film Production

Eric Bendick & Danny Schmidt
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Grizzly Creek Films
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Experience The Wild Divide

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About the Expedition: 2019 Ranch To Ridge

The Lake Wales Ridge is a globally significant hotspot of biodiversity and agricultural heritage, home to unique species found nowhere else in Eastern North America. As three friends traverse Florida’s ancient backbone by horseback, foot, and paddleboard, they encounter both the threats facing this wild landscape and the passionate stewards working to bridge its divide.
Expedition Name
2019 Ranch To Ridge
Expedition Goal
To showcase the "living patchwork" of working cattle ranches and agricultural lands that, along with protected lands, are vital for wildlife connectivity.

Expedition Maps

Ranch to Ridge
Start & End
Expedition Team
Carlton Ward Jr. Conservation Photographer
Joe Guthrie Bear Biologist
Mallory Dimmitt Conservationist
Expedition Route: 2019 Ranch To Ridge

The Importance of The Wild Divide

Exploring the Lake Wales Region

The Ranch to Ridge Expedition is a 7 day trek from Highlands Hammock State Park to the Tiger Creek Preserve, along a unique geologic feature known as the Lake Wales Ridge. The 60 mile path weaves through a diverse array of lands; from private ranches and residential neighborhoods to State Forests and private mitigation banks, highlighting how the habitat connections sustain the wildlife and wildlands. The expedition showcases Florida’s search for solutions to connect, protect, and restore our vital wildlife corridor and the animals that call it home.

Why The Expedition?

The Lake Wales Ridge is a global hotspot of biodiversity, containing the greatest concentration of local endemic species in Eastern North America. Over 85% of the rare scrub community has been lost, and fragmentation and development continue to threaten the ecological treasures that remain. Florida black bears share the expansive ranchlands that border the Lake Wales Ridge with a tenuous population of Florida panthers whose future is tied to a protected and connected landscape. This area is home to other imperiled species such as red cockaded woodpeckers, scrub jays, and gopher tortoises. Tucked among the small towns that dot the ridge is a patchwork of scrub habitat; home to numerous rare plants found nowhere else like Avon Park Harebells and Florida Ziziphus. The Ridge is among the most unique and fragile landscapes in Florida. This region is projected to see dramatic conversions of vast tracts of open space to accommodate dense development over the next fifty years as the state climbs from 22 million people today, to 33 million by 2070. Without adequate foresight and planning, this landscape conversion will sever the corridor, limiting the capacity of these imperiled species to retain sustainable population levels which in turn will burden future generations with excessive species recovery costs that could otherwise be avoided.

Outcomes

The beauty of focusing on a single geographic space within the Corridor is diving deep into the world of those who have dedicated their careers to studying and protecting these areas. During our Ranch to Ridge Expedition, we had the pleasure of organizing a roundtable discussion at the Ridge Audubon Center in Babson Park to elevate the great work being undertaken in the region to protect and conserve the diverse natural character of the ridge and the adjacent habitats along with the wildlife that call it home.