CONSERVATION LANDS ADVISORY COMMITTEE (CLAC) Joseph Carroll, Eugenia Chapter- Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS) Heather Stapleton, Environmental Learning Center (ELC) Ken Grudens, Indian River Land Trust (IRLT) Tim Glover, Friends of St. Sebastian River (FSSR) Frank Wegel, FSSR Alternate Doug Carlson, Indian River Mosquito Control District (IRMCD) Rich Wilson, IRMCD Alternate Jorge Rey, Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory (FMEL) Sheila O'Connell, FMEL Alternate Jens Tripson, Pelican Island Audubon Society (PIAS), Chairman Peter D. O'Bryan, Commissioner Liaison The CONSERVATION LANDS ADVISORY COMMITTEE will meet at 10:00 a.m. on THURSDAY, May 21, 2009 in Community Development Conference Room A1-411 of County 1 Administration Building A, 1801 27 h Street, Vero Beach. AGENDA 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of January 15, 2009 minutes 3. Consideration of Draft Revised Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA) Management Plan amended to include the Flinn Tract- Roland DeBlois 4. Consideration of Draft List of Properties to Target for Acquisition and/or Restoration under a Florida Scrub-jay Mitigation Fund Program- Roland DeBlois 5. Other Matters 6. Adjournment Cc: Joseph A. Baird Michael C. Zito William G. Collins II Robert M. Keating Roland DeBlois Andy Sobczak Beth Powell Scott Johnson Terri Collins-Lister Press Anyone who needs a special accommodation for this meeting may contact the County's ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Coordinator at 226-1223, at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting. Anyone who may wish to appeal any decision made at this meeting will need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which includes testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is based. F:\Community Development\Users\ROLAND\CLAC\AGENDAS\5-21-09 clac agnda.doc CONSERVATION LANDS ADVISORY COMMITTEE (CLAC) The Indian River County (IRC) Conservation Lands Advisory Committee (CLAC) met at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 15, 2009, in the County Administration Building, Building A, Room A 1-411, 1801 2ih Street, Vero Beach, Florida. You may hear an audio of the meeting; review the meeting agenda, backup material and the minutes on Indian River County website www.ircgov.com/Boards/CLAC/2009. Please note listed next to each agenda item refers to time on the recorded minutes. Present were members: Chairman Jens Tripson, Pelican Island Audubon Society Representative; Ken Grudens, Indian River Land Trust Representative (IRL T); Vice Chairman Jorge Rey, University of Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory Representative (FMEL); Tim Glover, Friends of St. Sebastian River Appointee; Joseph Carroll, Eugenia Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society Representative; Sheila O'Connell, Alternate, FMEL; Doug Carlson, Indian River Mosquito Control District Appointee and Heather Stapleton, Environmental Learning Center. Also present was IRC staff: Roland DeBlois, Chief of IRC Environmental Planning; Robert Keating, IRC Community Development Director; Non-voting Commissioner Liaison Peter O'Bryan; Andrew Sobczak, IRC Community Development; and Terri Collins-Lister, Commissioner Assistant, District 4. Others present: Chip Swindell, President, Ecotech Consultants, Inc. (Ecotech); Dr. David Cox, Pelican Island Audubon Society; John Baker, Realtor and Applicant Representative, High Point Property and George Dennis, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Call to Order Chairman Tripson called the meeting to order. Election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman (00:00:1 0) ON MOTION BY Mr. Carlson, SECONDED BY Mr. Carroll, the members voted unanimously (7 -0) to re­ elect Mr. Tripson as Chairman of the Conservation Lands Advisory Committee for 2009. CLAC/Unapproved January 15, 2009 C:\Documents and Settings\roland\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\OLKC\Min 011509.doc ON MOTION BY Mr. Grudens, SECONDED BY Mr. Glover, the members voted unanimously (7-0) to re­ elect Dr. Rey as Vice-Chairman of the Conservation Lands Advisory Committee for 2009. Approval of November 20, 2008 Minutes (00:01 :47) ON MOTION BY Mr. Glover, SECONDED BY Mr. Grudens, the members voted unanimously (7 -0) to approve the minutes of November 20, 2008 as presented. Presentation on Lost Tree Island Draft Restoration Plan - Mr. Chip Swindell, Ecotech (00:02:45) Mr. Chip Swindell, Ecotech, gave a PowerPoint Presentation on his proposed design concept for the Lost Tree Islands Restoration Project as a follow-up to the June 19, 2008 CLAC meeting, a copy of which is on file in the Commission Office. Mr. Roland DeBlois, Chief of IRC Environmental Planning, indicated the next step would be to finalize the Lost Island Draft Restoration Plan, then bring back the draft plan to the committee for review. He added once a recommendation on the draft plan was made by CLAC, there would need to be a workshop or coordination with the local municipalities on the plan prior to going before the Board of County Commissioners. ON MOTION BY Mr. Carlson, SECONDED BY Mr. Glover, the members voted unanimously (7 -0) to conceptual approve the concepts presented on the Lost Tree Island Draft Restoration Plan and recommend that staff and the consultant move forward with a paper draft plan. Consideration of County Establishment of a Florida Scrub-Jay Mitigation Fund in Coordination with the FWS (00:57:57) Mr. DeBlois reviewed the information contained in his memorandum on the County Establishment of a Florida Scrub-Jay Mitigation Fund and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the FWS and the Nature Conservancy, a copy of which is on file in the Commission Office. He indicated in November 2008, the FWS met with County staff and discussed funding opportunities for conservation and management of habitat of the Florida Scrub- CLAC/Unapproved 2 January 15, 2009 C:\Documents and Settings\roland\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\OLKC\Min 011509.doc Jay. He indicated at this meeting, the FWS suggested the County consider entering into a MOU with the FWS to establish a "Florida Scrub-Jay Conservation Program Fund" which would allow the County to collect and administer scrub-jay mitigation funds. Mr. George Dennis, FWS, further explained the Florida Scrub­ Jay Conservation Program Fund. A lengthy discussion ensued on the MOU and management funds for property already acquired by the County. ON MOTION BY Dr. Jey, SECONDED BY Mr. Carroll, the members voted unanimously (7 -0) to recommend that the Board of County Commissioners direct staff to coordinate with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to draft an Indian River County/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Memorandum of Understanding for establishment of a scrub-jay mitigation program fund. A discussion ensued on determining an overhead funding ratio to be included in the MOU other than attributable to land acquisition and land management and it was the consensus of the committee for an overhead percentage of 3%. Commissioner Liaison Peter O'Bryan asked if Mr. DeBlois could bring back to a future CLAC meeting, a list of properties that could be applied to The Nature Conservancy Management (TNC) funds and those stand alone projects that needed to be restored which would not qualify for TNC. Other Matters (01 :51 :59) Mr. DeBlois brought up at the November 20, 2008 CLAC meeting there was a discussion on the proposal to rename the Russell Grove River Buffer Conservation Area. He pointed out a volunteer group involved with the property had submitted a list of potential names for the Russell Grove River Buffer Conservation Area, a copy of which is on file in the Commission Office. He explained the volunteer group had recommended renaming the Russell Grove River Buffer to "Cypress Bend Community Park". A discussion followed on the conceptual plan for the north end of the conservation area and emphasized that it would not be an active recreation park. ON MOTION BY Dr. Rey, SECONDED BY Mr. Grudens, the members voted unanimously (7 -0) to rename the Russell Grove River Buffer Conservation Area to the Cypress Bend Community Preserve. CLAC/Unapproved 3 January 15, 2009 C:\Documents and Settings\roland\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\OLKC\Min 011509.doc A discussion ensued on the idea of a Community Garden and a canoe landing/launch structure at the Cypress Bend Community Preserve. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 12:05 p.m. CLAC/Unapproved 4 January 15, 2009 C:\Documents and Settings\roland\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\OLKC\Min 011509.doc INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FLORIDA MEMORANDUM TO: Conservation Lands Advisory Committee (CLAC) THROUGH: Robert M. Keating, AICP {(r.f\' Community Development Director FROM: Roland M. DeBlois, AICP ~ Chief, Environmental Planning & Code Enforcement Section DATE: May 14,2009 SUBJECT: Consideration of a Draft Revised Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA) Management Plan amended to include the Flinn Tract It is requested that the Conservation Lands Advisory Committee (CLAC) consider the following information at the CLAC meeting of May 21,2009. DESCRIPTION AND CONDITIONS: The original ±298 acre "core" property of the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA), on the north side of Oslo Road, was acquired by the County in 1991 jointly with the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD). The County and the SJRWMD share undivided 50/50 title interest in the core ORCA property. In 1995, the County and SJRWMD approved a management plan for ORCA. In June 1998, the County, SJRWMD and the Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) jointly acquired a ±37 acre conservation property known as the Flinn Tract, located on the east side of Indian River 1 Boulevard across from 8 h Street. In conjunction with the Flinn Tract purchase, the County, SJRWMD and FIND entered into an Intergovernmental Management Agreement, under which the County agreed to develop a management plan for the Flinn Tract as an amendment to the ORCA management plan. Although certain management activities, such as boundary fencing and exotics removal, have occurred on the Flinn Tract, a formal management plan for the property has not yet been adopted.