The owners of hundreds of acres of pristine ranchland — where former state Rep. Chris Dorworth tried to build controversial megadevelopment River Cross in 2018 — are asking Seminole to buy the property for conservation.

“It would be a milestone for Seminole County to protect this property,” said Charles Lee, director of advocacy for Audubon Florida.

The Clayton family has long owned the 669 acres officially known as Hi-Oaks Ranch but sometimes listed as High Oaks. The land is tucked between Econlockhatchee River and County Road 419 — just north of the Orange County line.

“We love the land and the animals,” said Jonathan Clayton, who is helping coordinate the sale of his family’s property. “But we love people more. And we’d like to see the property benefit people.”

The family submitted an application to a county advisory board asking Seminole to purchase the land under the Seminole Forever program, which helps preserve land from development

What the family might charge for the property and whether the county could afford it is not yet clear. The purchase price on the failed 2018 deal was $35.5 million.

Clayton on Thursday said the family plans to advertise the land “on the open market” — which means a developer buying it is not off the table — and has yet to set an asking price.

“It’s a fantastic piece of property,” he said. “If the county is interested they’d certainly have to pay a fair price.”

Filled with wildlife — including alligators, gopher tortoises, white tailed deer, bobcats and wild boar — environmentalists, conservationists and rural residents have long said Hi-Oaks land is worth preserving because of its proximity to the environmentally sensitive Econlockhatchee River, which flows north through Osceola, Orange and Seminole counties into the St. Johns River.

“It’s just pristine,” said Nancy Harmon, environmentalist and nearby resident of more than three decades. “It is a buffer for the river. The wildlife is attracted to the river. They need to go there to eat. They need to go there for their water.

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“We’re talking about hundreds of acres that provide an ecological balance that this area needs. It would be silly for the county not to try to get it.”

Seminole Commissioner Lee Constantine did not want to comment yet on whether the county should purchase Hi-Oaks, a decision that will ultimately fall to him and other commissioners.

“Clearly Hi-Oaks would be a prize for a number of reasons,” Constantine said. “But at 669 acres it would be very hard for us to buy it all in one fell swoop. Maybe we would have to buy it in portions or in sections.”

He said the county could partner with Florida Forever, the state’s land acquisition program. Hi-Oaks’ “ecological benefits are numerous” because of its wildlife and wetlands, he added.

Hi-Oaks sits in an area that faces increased development pressure, supporters of the purchase said. It’s less than three miles from the fast-growing University of Central Florida campus and close to Orange County — which faces challenges with urban sprawl.

Any development on Hi-Oaks would certainly face opposition as east Seminole residents have long been fiercely protective of the county’s rural boundary.

The land is within that voter-approved boundary — where development is limited to one home per five acres or one per 10 acres. It would require a supermajority vote of county commissioners — four of five members — to carve property out of the rural boundary for development.

In 2017, Dorworth’s company, River Cross Land Co., signed a contract to purchase Hi-Oaks. It then submitted plans to remove Hi-Oaks from the rural boundary and build a megadevelopment of 600 single-family homes, 270 townhouses, 500 apartments and 1.5 million square feet of shops, restaurants and offices.

But commissioners unanimously rejected River Cross at an August 2018 meeting attended by hundreds of opponents to the plan.

Charlie Clayton Sr. and his cousin W.  Malcolm Clayton purchased Hi-Oaks in the mid-1980s. At the time it was filled with timber, which the Claytons harvested over the years. Since then, the Claytons have used the land to hunt, camp and view wildlife. Today most of it is used to raise grass-fed cattle.

The Claytons also owned a 233-acre site west of the Econlockhatchee River which Seminole purchased for preservation in 1994 for $3.5 million. Today it is the Econ River Wilderness Area, a county park with trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding located off Old Lockwood Road.

Supporters of the purchase for conservation said Hi-Oaks could be an extension of that public area.

Over the past four decades, the Claytons have entered into numerous contracts with developers for Hi-Oaks — including River Cross.

But “each time the surrounding neighbors and environmental groups have vehemently opposed any development on the property,” the Claytons’ application states.

Hi-Oaks is among nine applications submitted for properties to be purchased under the Seminole Forever program.

On April 15, the program’s seven-member advisory board — the Acquisition and Restoration Committee or ARC — will rank nine applications including Hi-Oaks. Criteria include vulnerability to development, diversity of species and habitats, whether it connects with other conservation lands, potential uses for passive recreation or education, whether it provides flood protection, protects the aquifer and public interest.

ARC will send recommendations to commissioners to decide which properties to buy and funding sources — such as grants or partnering with Florida Forever. The county dedicates a percentage from its $320 million general fund budget every year — about $5 million annually — toward Seminole Forever’s acquisition fund.

Hi-Oaks “is among those critical pieces of property that certainly should be considered, ” said Paul Owens, president of 1000 Friends of Florida. “I trust the members of the committee will weigh the factors and make good recommendations.”