Agenda Item Name:
Title
Management of Lands Acquired with Wild Spaces and Public Places Funding
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Presenter:
Charlie Houder / (352)264-6804
Description:
A presentation by staff to update the Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) on the management of conservation lands acquired with funds from the 2016 voter approved Wild Spaces and Public Places (WSPP) initiative.
Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Hear informational presentation.
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Prior Board Motions:
On 3/9/21 the Board passed a motion directing staff to provide an update on: Wild Spaces Pubic Places overall, lessons learned, future visions including agricultural lands in preparation for infrastructure surtax and any inventory or prioritization of lands.
On 1/26/21 the Board passed a motion to direct staff to provide the BoCC with recommendations for a permanent facility location for the Office of Land Conservation and Management.
On 10/20/2015 The Board passed a motion to:
1. To refer to the County Manager to return with options for funding long term land maintenance on the conservation portfolio. The item may be brought back when ready but final budget decisions will be made during the budget cycle.
2. Provide to the Board members copies of and a description of the communitywide visioning and planning process the County went through.
3. Provide how staff envisions using the 2.2 million dollars.
Fiscal Consideration:
Fiscal Consideration
Not applicable - informational presentation
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Background:
In 2016, Alachua County voters approved an extension of the Wild Spaces and Public Places initiative with a one-half cent sales tax to be levied for eight years. Since 2016, the program has purchased 5,213.56 acres, bringing the acreage protected to 25,150. These acquisitions have resulted in additions to five existing preserves and the creation of seven new preserves. The Fox Pen Connector which is expected to close by August 27, 2021, will add an additional 4,000 acres to the conservation land portfolio.
Currently, the average cost for managing county Preserves is $66.86 per acre per year. This is within the range of costs reported for state land management agencies. Personnel is the largest single cost. There has been one position added to land management staffing since 2016.
Throughout the Alachua County Forever program, staff has worked to secure partnerships to reduce the initial cost of land acquisition and on-going land management expense. Currently, 7,124 acres owned by the County are managed by agencies or non-profits at essentially no cost to the County.
The County’s most recent purchase is the 1,250 acres known as Parcel E (now Bee Tree Creek Preserve) acquired from Weyerhaeuser. The University of Florida School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences (SFFGS) has expressed interest in managing the property in conjunction with the nearby Austin Cary Forest. In addition to property owned by the State of Florida, SFFGS already manages adjacent land jointly owned by the County and St. Johns River Water Management District under a cooperative agreement. SFFGS proposes to manage Bee Tree Creek Preserve under a similar agreement in order to expand their teaching and research opportunities. Such an arrangement would reduce the County’s management load associated with new WSPP acquisitions.
Comp Plan Reference:
Policy 6.0 Land Conservation Program within the Conservation and Open Space Element, states “Establish and maintain a land conservation program for the purchase, preservation, and management of natural areas and open space to complement the regulatory approaches identified in other section of this element.”