For decades Archbold has been an internationally recognized nonprofit organization dedicated to in-depth research, education, and conservation in the heart of Florida, one of the world’s most ecologically diverse regions.

This subtropical heart of Florida is home to plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth. It is also home to the rich cultural history of American cattle ranching that began in Florida in the 16th century. Today Florida boasts some of the largest ranches in the United States (many owned by fifth and sixth generation Floridians) that contribute billions of dollars annually to the state economy, and exist on lands of significant ecological importance.

This unique mix of economic, cultural, and environmental values offers a fertile natural laboratory to help solve a crucial 21st century global challenge: how to develop sustainable agricultural and land management practices that will honor natural biodiversity and the services nature provides while remaining economically viable for generations to come. Archbold’s highly respected research teams are developing insights and offering solutions to this question.

In 1988, with a strategic goal to explore these challenges, Archbold leased the 10,500-acre Buck Island Ranch from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, establishing the MacArthur Agro-ecology Research Center. Buck Island Ranch is one of a handful of working cattle ranches worldwide with such an intense and successful history focused on “hands-on” agro-ecology research and conservation.

“Agricultural, conservation, and governmental organizations look to Archbold’s Buck Island Ranch as the ‘true north,’ trusted repository of dependable science that will solve the tough environmental issues we face. We are fortunate to have this natural laboratory in the northern Everglades watershed.”

-Temperince Morgan, Executive Director, Florida Chapter, The Nature Conservancy