Two Rivers Ranch

Two Rivers Ranch is a privately held cow/calf ranch business on 14,000 acres in Florida. The property crosses into Hillsborough County, Pasco County and Hernando County and is named for the two rivers converging on the property, the Hillsborough River and Blackwater Creek. The land includes pasture, planted pines and wetland habitats.[1][2]

History

It was acquired in 1932 by Wayne Thomas as relatively barren land following clearcuts that occurred around the start of the 20th century.[1][2] It is now owned by Robert Thomas[3] and is a supplier of spring water.[4][5] A plan to sell off and develop 3,500 acres with residential and commercial construction was proposed in 2005.[6] In 2007 the plan was dropped over road construction while zoning changes continued to be pursued.[7]

Land use

The area provides habitat for fox squirrel, gopher tortoise, turkey, deer, and quail. It is the largest privately owned undeveloped property in Hillsborough County and is about 20 miles (30 minutes)[8] away is the city of Tampa with approximately 3 million people living within a 50-mile radius. The ranch is home to Crystal Springs (Hillsborough County), producing about 40 million gallons a day for the Zephyrhills Natural Spring Water Company. The property is part of land holdings that included Hillsborough State Park, donated in 1936, and another 115 acres donated for the restoration of Fort Foster. Canoe access to the Hillsborough River is available on the property.[1] Habitats on the property include upland ridges, oak hammocks, sloughs, herbaceous wetlands, pasture, native range, plantation pines, cypress domes, flatwoods, and flood plain forest.[2]

References
  1. "News Release - Two Rivers Ranch, Inc.: Marketing Florida Agriculture".
  2. "Upcoming Projects - Florida". privatelands.org. Archived from the original on 2004-01-15.
  3. JAMES THORNER [Skeptics spring up on water proposal] May 18, 1999 Page: 6 HERNANDO TIMES (St. Petersburg Times [STATE Edition])
  4. MOLLY MOORHEAD [Ranch owner reaches deal with environmental group] Sep 24, 2003 Page: 6 Text Word Count: 384 St. Petersburg Times
  5. BRADY DENNIS [Rancher taps springs for extra 30,000 gallons] March 5, 2002 Page: 1 Text Word Count: 595 St. Petersburg Times
  6. MOLLY MOORHEAD and JAMES THORNER Slice of Two Rivers to sprout housing January 22, 2005 St. Petersburg Times
  7. Chuin Wei Yap 3,500 acre project stalls Nov 1, 2007 St. Petersburg Times
  8. JACQUIN SANDERS [Beef ranch has wealth of history] March 23, 1989 Page: 1.B Section: TAMPA BAY AND STATE Text Word Count: 663 St. Petersburg Times [STATE Edition]
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