INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Indian River County’s decades-long effort to protect the Florida Scrub-jay is drawing national attention.
Elizabeth Powell, director of the county’s Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department, has been awarded a scholarship to present at the 2025 National Habitat Conservation Planning Conference in Shepherdstown, W.Va. The conference runs Oct. 14–17.
Powell will outline the county’s Sebastian Area-wide Florida Scrub-jay Habitat Conservation Plan, approved in 2000 under the Endangered Species Act.
The plan was created in response to rapid growth in the Sebastian Highlands, where scrub habitat had been threatened by development. It allowed homebuilding to continue under an incidental take permit while requiring permanent conservation and habitat restoration.
“Indian River County’s HCP has become a national model for how local governments can balance growth with biodiversity conservation,” Powell said. “I’m honored to represent our community’s work, the dedication of our County Commission, and the hundreds of volunteers and partners who have made this success possible.”
The county now supports more than 120 banded Scrub-jays across 33 family territories on public lands that include the North Sebastian Conservation Area, Wabasso Scrub Conservation Area, Jane Schnee Scrub Preserve and others.
The plan established five conservation areas, required annual reporting on development impacts and called for restoring scrub habitat through burning and roller-chopping. It also set out monitoring of bird territories, reproduction rates and dispersal patterns.
Since 2000, volunteers have logged more than 600 hours annually to help band and track Scrub-jays. More than 300 birds have been color-banded, and over 50 dispersals from county lands to St. Sebastian River State Park have been documented.
Powell said the conservation team’s work has built on efforts by past leaders.
“Because of the community’s support and involvement, we have been able to expand protection to many habitats and species through our Environmental Lands Program with the previous two environmental bond referendums and now a third,” she said.
The Florida Scrub-jay, the state’s only endemic bird species, has lost 80 to 90 percent of its population since the late 1800s due to habitat loss and fragmentation. Today, between 3,000 and 11,000 remain in the wild. Indian River County officials say the habitat plan has helped stabilize the species locally by preserving and restoring scrub environments where the birds can survive.
“As new communities seek to develop similar plans under the Endangered Species Act, Indian River County offers a proven, scalable framework grounded in science and biology for long-term habitat management in growing urban settings,” Powell said.
County officials noted that nominations are open for environmentally sensitive lands as part of the county’s third environmental land bond referendum.