Managing Global Resources for a Secure Future

Buck Island Ranch, platform for the MacArthur Agro-ecology Research Center (MAERC), is a 10,500-acre, commercial cow-calf operation of over 3,000 head (among the top twenty largest ranches in Florida), with extensive improved and semi-native pastures, and other operations including sod and game harvest. The Ranch is representative of the expansive landscape of private ranchlands, which encompasses about one sixth of the state of Florida. Buck Island Ranch is owned by the MacArthur Foundation and was the personal cattle ranch of John D. MacArthur, insurance magnate. He owned and operated the property from 1968-1978.   The ranch is now leased to Archbold Biological Station, a world renowned research center focused on research, conservation, and education on a globally threatened pristine ecosystem. The ranch allows Archbold the unrivalled opportunity to expand its mission of research, education, and conservation to a working agricultural landscape.   MAERC serves as a crucible for coordinating the activities of a large number of stakeholders including the academic community, agricultural producers, agency personnel, and environmentalists.