INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — County leaders have finalized the first land acquisitions funded by a $50 million environmental bond approved by voters in 2022, marking the start of a long-term effort to preserve sensitive habitats and improve water quality.
The Indian River County Board of County Commissioners announced the closings on three properties purchased through the bond program, which was created to secure and permanently protect environmentally significant lands across the county.
Beth Powell, director of parks, recreation and conservation, said the initiative is designed with long-range ecological goals in mind.
“The primary purpose is to protect and restore endangered ecosystems and associated rare and endangered species in the county. The program provides for and is intended to provide for public passive recreation, for instance, for hiking trails or for other associated light uses by the public and to preserve open space and protect groundwater, flood protection, and just generally provide for quality of life for Indian River County in perpetuity,” Powell said.
The three properties acquired are Hale Grove, Durrance Place and Osprey Estates.
Hale Grove is a 21.89-acre parcel along U.S. Highway 1, about a mile north of the Wabasso Causeway (State Road 60), purchased for $2,540,000. Durrance Place, an 11.74-acre property east of U.S. 1 and also about a mile north of the causeway, was acquired for $1,260,000. Osprey Estates, a 15.47-acre property south of the Gifford dock on 45th Street and bordering the Indian River Lagoon, was purchased for $1,640,000.
All three sites are considered environmentally significant, particularly for their connection to the Indian River Lagoon and the habitats they support.
Powell said the county’s approach focuses on the broader environmental network rather than isolating a single species or landscape type.
“For instance, in Indian River County, some of those imperiled habitats might be longleaf pine, it could be xeric scrub, it could be wetlands, etc. And so, all of these ecosystems perform certain ecological functions that historically made this whole network of nature work. So, we're not looking necessarily to protect specifically one habitat or one species or even one function, but we're looking at that kind of greater picture of how everything is connected and how these ecosystems work,” she said.
County officials say the properties will not simply be left untouched. Plans include habitat restoration and enhancements intended to benefit the lagoon and surrounding natural systems, along with improvements to allow passive public access such as walking trails.
Management objectives are part of the selection process, Powell said, noting that some sites offer opportunities for direct environmental improvements.
“So, for instance, we have right now the Hale Grove property and the Durrance Place property. Those sit on the Indian River Lagoon and have the opportunity to be restored and enhanced. So, that may include a little bit more, for instance, at Jones Pier, we created a salt marsh habitat that's connected to the lagoon that provides water quality benefit in a more direct way. It also replaces high marsh habitat that's been lost throughout our county,” she said.
A nine-member advisory group known as the Environmental Land Acquisition Panel, appointed by the county commission, reviews nominations and recommends priorities to the board.
Powell described the panel’s role in weighing the relative value of each property.
“The ranking part of that means that the Environmental Land Acquisition Panel, a group of people who are appointed by the Board of County Commissioners and given the task or responsibility to advise the board on which properties should be considered in terms of their relevance to each other, like how important are they,” she said.
The panel evaluates environmental reports and other criteria before assigning rankings.
“That is the task for the ELAP and that ELAP panel looks at a lot of different things, including environmental reports and other minimum criteria that we have set up to evaluate the properties, which ultimately lead to a ranking,” Powell said.
County Commission Chair Deryl Loar praised residents for supporting the bond referendum, calling it a lasting investment in the community’s future. County Administrator John Titkanich also commended staff and the advisory panel for their work on the initial acquisitions.
With approximately $45 million remaining from the bond, additional purchases are expected. Powell said about 87 properties have been nominated so far, with several already under active consideration.
“There have been about 87 different properties that have been nominated, and so we have the tiered systems and we're in nomination period four. Those properties have not yet been ranked in terms of the tier where they fall in the tier. Right now, we have three easement properties that were in active negotiations and or consideration. Those are in the tier one, and then we have about a dozen properties that are sitting in our tier one for fee simple acquisition,” she said.