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Although algae blooms are historically common in Lake Okeechobee and surrounding waterways, blooms in recent years have covered much of the lake’s surface and have contained toxin-producing groups of algae, rendering them harmful algae blooms (HABs). South Florida Water Management District and other entities have taken strides to manage interior waterways before nutrient-rich freshwater reaches downstream estuaries along the coasts. Because ranching is the largest land use by area in the Lake Okeechobee watershed, ranches may be able to improve HAB mitigation strategies by holding water, and therefore nutrients, in private wetlands and ditches. Our study assesses water quality within 19 ditch sites on Buck Island Ranch (BIR), a working cattle ranch in south-central Florida. Sites were sampled monthly for nutrient concentration, temperature, conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, site characteristics, and chlorophyll a concentration as an indicator of algal biomass. We analyzed relationships between chlorophyll a, nutrient concentrations, and biophysical parameters to establish possible drivers of algal abundance in the ditches. We expected higher chlorophyll a concentrations during periods of higher nutrient concentrations and higher light availability. Higher chlorophyll a concentrations were also expected in the internal ranch ditches, as these sites bordered pastures that have been historically fertilized. Results suggested that ditch location, total nitrogen and total phosphorus explained the most variations of chlorophyll a concentrations in ranch ditches. Our research indicates that nutrient fluxes contribute to general algae growth within cattle ranches in the Lake Okeechobee watershed, potentially contributing to downstream water quality affects. Future research could demonstrate the effects of ranch management on specific types of algae blooms, distinguishing between diatoms, harmful algae, and other algal groups.