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Broker reflects on the conservation conversation that changed Florida

Dean Saunders' work on conservation easements has preserved hundreds of thousands of acres across Florida by bringing businesses and environmentalists together.

By Louis Llovio
| 5:00 a.m. March 27, 2024
| 0 Free Articles Remaining!

Dean Saunders introduces Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson at the start of the Lay of The Land, Florida Land Conference at Bonnet Springs in Lakeland.

Tampa Bay-Lakeland

Dean Saunders and his wife Gina were driving on Highway 50 from Orlando to their home in Clermont one day when he realized something.

This was in the early 1980s, back when the 25-mile or so trek from the city to the small central Florida town was a drive in the country. The massive car dealerships and what seems like mile after mile of development didn’t exist back then.

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Louis Llovio

Louis Llovio is the deputy managing editor at the Business Observer. Before going to work at the Observer, the longtime business writer worked at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Maryland Daily Record and for the Baltimore Sun Media Group. He lives in Tampa.