The Florida De­part­ment of Environmental Protection has declined the gift of the 4,414-acre Peaceful Horse Ranch in southern DeSoto County for a proposed park, according to the president of a nonprofit organization that now is set to receive the property.

Located between Horse Creek and the Peace River, the ranch was offered to the state by the Mosaic phosphate company in the settlement of a lawsuit filed in 2010 by the Sierra Club, People Protecting the Peace River and Manasota-88.