The first $25 million from a 2022 county bond referendum to purchase environmentally significant lands has been released, with a nine-person panel ranking properties that should be saved from development.

Voters approved borrowing a total of $50 million for Indian River County’s Environmental Lands Acquisition Program to protect, restore and sustain endangered ecosystems, flora and fauna.

Instead of borrowing the whole $50 million at once, the county decided to divide the money into two $25 million tranches to make sure the properties can be chosen and purchased within the three-year time limit on municipal bonds, said Beth Powell, the county’s Director of Parks, Recreation and Conservation.

The county must pay back this first $25 million by 2044. The cost to the owner of a home with a $1 million taxable value is roughly $175 per year.

Approximately 40 parcels have been nominated by county staff, environmental groups and individual landowners for possible purchase through the program.  Parcels will be ranked by the Environmental Land Acquisition Panel which includes professionals with backgrounds in natural resources, planning and engineering, real estate and finance, plus volunteers from all five county districts.

Members of the panel – Samantha McGee, Janice Broda, Daniel R. Bott, Peter O’Bryan, James L. Connaughton, Heather Stapleton, Jeff Beal, John Orcutt, and Roland DeBlois – meet monthly to review and rank nominated parcels. Commissioner Joe Earman serves as liaison to the board.

Rankings are to be based on resource characteristics, proximity to greenways and wildlife corridors, purchase opportunities, recreational and educational value, and the cost of managing the properties to provide public access.

The property nomination form is available on the county website and can be returned by email, regular mail, or delivered to the county by hand, Powell said. Nominations for purchases from the first $25 million close Sept. 1.

Between 1990 and 2004, the county purchased 20 key parcels totaling more than 7,600 acres and protected more than 600 acres of primary groundwater recharge areas. The county also protected more than 2,400 acres of flood-prone areas, Native American shell middens and pioneer homesteads.