August 13, 2026
Nearly 1,800 acres of land in Volusia County will be protected through two major conservation transactions that closed one day apart this month. The two deals — one involving nearly 1,300 acres near Osteen and another covering nearly 500 acres in DeLeon Springs — totaled approximately $28.5 million.
The larger property, River Bend Ranch, is a 1,299-acre property at 1411 Osteen Maytown Road. The Volusia County Council unanimously approved its $20.1 million purchase through the Volusia Forever program in May, and the transaction closed Aug. 6, according to Maury L. Carter & Associates. The property includes approximately 2 miles of undeveloped frontage along the St. Johns River and another 1.3 miles along Deep Creek…. “Volusia County has done a great job conserving land this year,” said Robby Doyle of Maury L. Carter & Associates, which represented the seller….
One day before the River Bend Ranch transaction closed, another major conservation deal was completed in West Volusia. A conservation easement on nearly 500 acres at 1290 Blackwelder Road in DeLeon Springs closed Aug. 5 for $8.379 million, according to Maury L. Carter & Associates. The property, marketed as the Pearl of Volusia and identified by the county as the Caraway Lake Conservation Easement, surrounds much of Caraway Lake and connects to Lake Dias. It lies within the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem Florida Forever project area. Unlike River Bend Ranch, the Pearl will remain privately owned. The conservation easement restricts future development while allowing certain agricultural uses, including cattle operations, tree cultivation and prescribed burns….
Maury L. Carter & Associates, which also represented the seller in the transaction, said the Pearl sale set a Volusia County record for the amount paid per acre for a conservation easement. The brokerage calculated the transaction at $17,712 per acre, surpassing what it said was the previous record of $12,505 per acre established with the McMillon Creek Ranch transaction in March. Together, River Bend Ranch and the Pearl of Volusia represent approximately $28.5 million in conservation transactions involving nearly 1,800 acres in the span of two days.
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