What
is the Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) Program?
The Environmentally Endangered
Lands (EEL) Program is dedicated to conservation
through land acquisition and management. Brevard
County's Parks & Recreation Department manages
and assists the program. The EEL Program protects
Brevard County's unique natural habitats, while
managing them for their rare, threatened, endangered,
or endemic plants and animals.
Three directives guide the EEL
Program. The first is to conserve the natural resources
of Brevard County through acquisition of environmentally
sensitive lands and subsequent management of the
natural resources. The second is to provide environmental
education opportunities on EEL sanctuaries. Third,
the EEL Program provides passive recreation opportunities,
such as hiking and wildlife observation, on EEL
sanctuaries.
Since its start in 1990, the
EEL Program has helped to protect more than 18,000
acres of threatened habitat. Much of this land has
been bought in partnership with the State of
Florida and the St. Johns River Water Management
District. The EEL Program also provides outdoor
learning and recreational opportunities to Brevard
County citizens and visitors.
In September 1990, Brevard's
citizens voted to tax themselves for the purchase
of environmentally sensitive lands. They approved
a referendum authorizing the county to issue up
to $55 million in bonds to "finance the cost
of acquiring, protecting, and maintaining environmentally
endangered lands, and making improvements as appropriative
for passive recreation and environmental education…"
The bonds are paid for by a .25 mil ad valorem
tax, equal to about 25 cents on every $1,000 of
tax assessed
land value. The tax will be levied annually for
20 years until 2011. Residents reaffirmed the
EEL Program in 2004 under a second referendum to
protect the natural
habitats
of Brevard County by acquiring environmentally
sensitive lands for conservation, passive recreation,
and environmental education.
What
is the mission and vision of the EEL Program?
Mission Statement
The mission of the EEL Program
is to protect and preserve biological diversity
through responsible stewardship of Brevard County's
natural resources.
Vision Statement
The EEL Program's vision statement
guides the program. It is based on the following
four elements:
The EEL Program acquires,
protects, and maintains environmentally endangered
lands guided by science and the best available
practices for land management.
The EEL Program protects the
rich biological diversity of Brevard County for
future generations.
The EEL Program provides passive
recreation and environmental education opportunities
to Brevard's citizens and visitors without taking
away from the conservation goals of the program.
The EEL Program supports active
citizen volunteer participation and community
involvement.
The EEL Program is a 'willing-seller'
program, which means it can only purchase property
from people who want to sell their land. The EEL
Program does not control or restrict private land
rights, or condemn land.
Most of the land the EEL Program
has in conservation was purchased in partnership
with the State of Florida. In 1990, the State
passed a landmark legislation called Preservation
2000, or P-2000, which provided for $3 billion
over 10 years for the acquisition of conservation
lands throughout Florida. In 2000 the legislature
passed the Florida Forever Act, which picked
up where Preservation 2000 left off and provided
for another $3 billion over the next ten years.
Many other local governments in the state have also
passed land acquisition referendum and look to the
State's P-2000 and Florida Forever funding to match
their locally approved funds for land acquisition.
The EEL Program partners with
other land conservation programs to purchase lands.
These include the St. Johns River Water Management
District and the North American Wetlands
Conservation Act. These agencies work together
to protect important natural resources for the long-term.
Sharing costs with partners allows the EEL Program
to purchase more lands than it could by acting alone.
Since 1993, the County has contracted
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to perform many
of the land acquisition services of the EEL Program.
TNC staff members are highly experienced in land
acquisition for conservation, and they work closely
with the EEL Program to accomplish the land acquisition
goals established by the EEL Selection and Management
Committee.
How
much land is in conservation as a result of the
EEL Program's efforts?
The EEL Program has helped preserve
approximately 18,000 acres of land at a cost of
more than $48 million, much of it in partnership
with the State of Florida and the St Johns
River Water Management District.
What
is an EEL sanctuary?
Lands purchased and managed by
the EEL Program are called Sanctuaries. They serve
three main functions:
To conserve natural resources
and biological diversity
To offer environmental education
opportunities
To make available passive
recreation opportunities that do not impact the
natural resources
The purpose of an EEL sanctuary
is to provide:
A protected area for plants
and animals
A place to learn about Brevard's
unique natural areas
The EEL Program's Selection
& Management Committee identified three
Sanctuary Categories. Each EEL sanctuary is assigned
a Category of 1, 2 or 3, based on that site's conservation
goals and public access needs. The types of activities
to be offered at each sanctuary are determined by
the assigned Category. A Category 1 ranking
has the most options for public access, while a
Category 3 has the least.
To balance passive recreational
uses and land conservation 'core conservation areas'
are identified on all EEL sanctuaries. These are
areas that are more sensitive and cannot handle
much human disturbance, such as wetlands. These
areas will not have trails or other public access
features in order to protect the most fragile habitats
within a sanctuary.
Category 1 Sites:Centers
for Regional Management and Environmental Education
These sites offer opportunities for broad public
access and for the development of Management &
Education Centers. Five sanctuaries have been selected
as Category 1 Sites:
Enchanted Forest Sanctuary
in Titusville
Pine Island Conservation Area
in north Merritt Island
Malabar Scrub Sanctuary in
Malabar
Barrier Island Ecosystem
Center on the barrier island
Together they offer excellent
examples of Brevard's rich biological diversity
and are located around the county to provide access
for all Brevard citizens and visitors.
Category 2 Sites:
Intermediate Use Sanctuaries
These sites have some degree of public access development
that is usually limited to nature trails, limited
parking areas, interpretive signs along trails,
and limited facilities (i.e. open shelters, educational
kiosks, trail signs, etc.).
Category 3 Sites: Primary
Conservation and Research Sanctuaries
These sites have little or no public access development
due to fragile habitats and sensitive land management
projects. Public access is limited to less fragile
areas on the site and/or through organized EEL tours.
The EEL Program is committed
to providing the public with opportunities to enjoy
the beauty of Brevard's natural areas. The best
way to protect a sanctuary and to provide public
access to the site is to support passive recreation
activities. These are activities that do not abuse
the natural resources, biological diversity, or
environmental qualities of a site.
Examples of passive recreation
activities provided on EEL sanctuaries follow:
Hiking
Guided nature tours
Wildlife observation
Canoeing and kayaking
Bicycling
Nature photography
Bird watching
Horseback riding
Catch-and-release fishing
These are examples only and
not all activities will occur on every sanctuary.
Universal access is a term used
to describe a philosophy of access for all people
regardless of age and ability. A major goal of the
EEL Program is to provide universal access to its
sanctuaries. To help reach this goal the EEL Program
held a one-day workshop in June 1995. People with
physical disabilities and organizations that support
and serve them were invited. At the workshop they
were asked what the EEL Program could do to make
natural areas more accessible. The participants'
ideas were summed up in a booklet called Bridging
the Gaps to Experiencing Nature: A Workshop on Ideas
for Making Nature Accessible to People of Diverse
Needs. (To obtain a copy, make your
request by calling 321-255-4466 or EMAIL)
The EEL Program is using the
suggestions and ideas from the workshop in the development
of its sanctuaries. Special attention is given to
the four Centers for Regional Management. Universal
accessibility was a key feature in the design of
the Enchanted Forest Sanctuary's Management &
Education Center and trails. A 'Universal Design
Review Group was formed to help this sanctuary meet
a wide variety of needs. As other sanctuaries are
opened to the public, the EEL Program will continue
to look for ways to provide access for everyone.
The EEL Selection & Management
Committee (EELSMC) plays a very important role
in helping the EEL Program conserve land in Brevard
County. The Board of County Commissioners selects
the seven member volunteer committee based on their
scientific knowledge and experience. Each member
is a scientist who lives and works in Brevard County,
and has years of experience working with the issues
facing Brevard's natural areas. It is the EELSMC's
job to choose sites that the EEL Program will acquire
and protect. Only lands that are recommended by
the EELSMC can be bought with EEL funds.
When the EELSMC makes a decision
about whether to acquire a piece of land, they base
their choice on scientific criteria they developed.
These criteria are outlined in the EEL
Land Acquisition Manual. The EELSMC
selects lands for acquisition one of two ways. Either
the committee evaluates lands presented to them
by private landowners to see if the land meets the
EEL criteria. Or, the committee identifies lands
that meet the criteria for acquisition and staff
then contacts the landowners to determine if they
are willing sellers.
Where
Currently the EEL Program is
focused on acquiring land within the Brevard Coastal
Scrub Ecosystem project, which targets scrub and
related habitats throughout Brevard. A second area
for acquisition is within the North Indian River
Lagoon Blueways project, which targets lands in
North Brevard County to protect the headwaters of
the Indian River Lagoon. The EELSMC will consider
acquisition of land outside these project areas
if the land meets the EEL criteria for acquisition.
What
is land management and how is the EEL Program involved?
Land Management
Buying lands for conservation
requires a pledge to long-term land management.
For centuries, natural cycles of fire, water flow,
and weather shaped the habitats we see today. Now
roads, development, and other human disturbances
have fragmented the landscape. These natural cycles
can no longer happen on their own, and it is up
to land managers to re-create them to preserve our
unique species and habitats. Examples of land management
activities include: securing property boundaries,
implementing prescribed fires, removing invasive
plants, restoring hydrological cycles, and creating
public access trails. These practices maintain healthy
sanctuaries and often restore areas that have been
disturbed or neglected. A land manager can be thought
of as a doctor for the land, curing ailments and
maintaining overall health.
The EEL Program has defined
four large management areas within Brevard County:
North,
Central,
South
and South
Beaches (click on links for photo of each
area). One EEL Land Manager is assigned to each
region. The EEL Land Managers develop a management
plan for each sanctuary within their management region.
The plans outline the management goals, which include
the type of land management activities required for
the habitats and species and identification of appropriate
passive recreation and education activities.
How
is the EEL Program involved in public education?
Management & Education
Centers
The EEL Program's goal is to
create an inspiring environmental education program.
This will be done through partnerships with the
school system, local organizations, and citizen
volunteers. Trailhead kiosks (information panels),
illustrative trail signs, guided tours, and four
regional Management & Education Centers are
being created to help meet this goal. The EEL Program's
environmental education goals are outlined in its
Environmental Education Manual.
(To obtain a copy, make your request by calling
321-255-4466 or EMAIL)
The four planned Management &
Education Centers, one in each EEL region, will
serve as hubs for environmental education, land
management, and public access activities. Each Center
will provide volunteer programs and will have features
planned for universal access.
Enchanted Forest Sanctuary—North
Area
Located in Titusville on State Road 405 just
west of U.S. Highway 1, this 393-acre site is
the flagship
sanctuary of the EEL Program and was purchased
because of its unique geology and high biological
diversity. The sanctuary is one of the few places
in Brevard where visitors can experience majestic
oak hammocks, swamps, and the Atlantic Coastal
Ridge in one short hike. The Management
and Education Center for the EEL North Region
is located at the Enchanted Forest.
Pine Island Conservation
Area—Central Area Located in North Merritt
Island on the eastern shore of the Indian River
Lagoon, this 879-acre site was acquired in partnership
with the SJRWMD to preserve its diverse habitat--pine
flatwoods, cabbage palm hammocks, hardwood hammocks,
mangrove
forests, and salt marshes--as a refuge for West
Indian manatee, bottlenose dolphin, alligator, woodstork,
osprey, gopher tortoise, bobcat, eastern indigo snake. With
restoration of the Historic Sams House, Pine Island Conservation
Area will host the
Central
Region's Management & Education Center.
Malabar Scrub Sanctuary—South
Area
Located on Malabar Road next to the Town of
Malabar's Community Park & Fire Station,
the 395-acre Malabar Scrub Sanctuary is a refuge
for the Florida
scrub-jay, gopher tortoise, and eastern indigo
snake. The habitat variety on this site makes
it an ideal place for visitors to experience
the
interconnection of the wetland and upland communities
and associated species. Development of the
Management & Education Center will proceed
after the Enchanted Forest and Barrier Island
Ecosystem Centers are opened.
Barrier Island Ecosystem
Center—South Beaches
Located about 3-miles north of the Sebastian Inlet State Recreation Area, this
28-acre site is in the heart of the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge. The
property was donated to Brevard County by the Richard King Mellon Foundation
and includes the old Chuck's Steakhouse Restaurant. This building will be renovated
into the Barrier Island Ecosystem Center. The properties preserved throughout
the south beaches are excellent examples of barrier island habitats, such as
coastal dunes, maritime hammocks and mangrove swamps that provide ideal educational
and recreational opportunities. The Barrier Island Ecosystem Center is in
the design stage.
Ground breaking is scheduled August 19, 2006, with the opening planned
in 2007.
Success in reaching the goals
of the EEL Program requires not only concerned and
involved citizens, but also professional staff who
are trained in land management, public relations
and environmental education. In addition, staff
members develop and apply management plans to EEL
Sanctuaries, and apply for grants to aid in conservation
efforts.
The EEL Program staff can be
reached by the contact information listed below:
Regarding Email Sent to
brevardparks.com: Under Florida
law, e-mail addresses are public records.
If you do not want your e-mail address released
in response to a public records request,
do not send electronic mail to this entity.
Instead, contact this office by phone or
in writing.
Environmentally Endangered
Lands Program
91 East Drive
Melbourne, FL 32904
Phone: 321-255-4466
Fax: 321-255-4499
Volunteers are an important part
of the EEL Program. The EEL
Volunteer Program offers Brevard County citizens
the opportunity to become involved in local land
conservation efforts. Volunteers help the program
build partnerships with organizations and businesses.
They also expand the EEL Program's ability to manage
the EEL Sanctuary Network.
EEL volunteers help Brevard's
natural resources by contributing their valuable
time and skills. There are a wide variety of volunteer
opportunities that include removing invasive exotic
plants, leading nature hikes, posting sanctuary
boundaries, building boardwalks and trail signs,
studying habitat recovery, and developing educational
materials. Volunteers' time and skills have a positive
impact on today's citizens and future generations.