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M The legal description of Mr. Bidlingmayer's property is Sec. 32, T.33S, R.40E. The property is situated on the extreme southwest section of the County, near the St. Lucie line, within the Vero Shores development. The property is accessible by U.S X , a major highway which passes the Vero Shore development, where the property is located. The south -side of'the property is bordered by a medium-sized trailer park. The western side is adjacent to some orange groves, the southwestern grove being abandoned, while the northwestern grove is still producing. The north side is bound by hammock and pines, while the east side is adjacent to Vero Shores and a oak -palm hammock. Within the southern half of the property is found the driveway system, allowing adequate access to that portion of the property. The northern section is lacking any permanent travel system. There is very thick veg- etation and that would hinder movement at the present time. In the center of the property is found the house and the yard.area. Within the yard are planted various species of palm trees that enhance the site. There are three.plant communit4es found on the property and they are as follows: 1) Located in the extreme southwest corner is one of the last remaining hardwood hammock communities in Indian River County. This environment is unique because it has some native tropical species. Development of these hammock areas has caused the loss of the under story plant communities where many of our valuable native species are found. Some species found in this community are Gumbo limbo (Bruseea simaruba), Motic (Sideroxylon fortidissium), Red Stopper (Eugrenia confusa), White stopper (E. axillaris), Spanish Stopper (E. simponii), Red bay (Persea barbonia), Live Oak (Quercus virginiana) and Cabbage Palm (Sabel palmetto).. 2) The western half of the property -is composed of a Slash Pine ridge. This community has primary -importance in a water recharge capacity. The dominant species found here are Slash Pine (Pinus carribae) and Saw Palmetto (Sereno repens). Fire has played the major role in maintaining this area in a subclimax Mage, not allowing more shade tolerent hardwood species to encroach. 3) The third major plant community, Oak -Palm hammock, composes the east- ern portion of the property. This plant environment is found in wet areas and along fresh -water streams. Some species that may be found in this community are Live Oak (Quercus virginiana), Cabbage Palm (Sabel palmetto), Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens), Red Maple (Acer rubrum), Laurel Oak (Quercus laurifolia), Sweet bay (Magnolia virginiana),.Wild Coffee (Colubrina arboresuns) and sometimes Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum). There is also a small area of Cabbage Palm (Sabel Palmetto) that may have been planted or occured naturally and have held their own against succession by the surrounding oaks. ;•;� There is a slight depression that runs between the Slash pine ridge area and the Oak -palm hammock which dates back to the pleistocene Era. At that time, } the small depression that is found today was perhaps a twenty (20) foot canyon then. The formation of this canyon occured when the acid -rich run- off from the pine ridge encountered the alkaline limestone deposits found s under the Oak -Palm hammock. The run-off set off a chemical reaction that caused part of the lime stone to be desolved, creating the canyon and fresh s water stream. This property is one of the sites where the fresh water from the ancient streams drained out into the ocean, creating a brackish delta. The legal questions arising from this transaction will not be discussed in i this paper. Generally Mr. Bidlingmayer would like a tax break on the land he owns by donating it to the County after he or his wife or both are gone. He stipulates that a conservation minded organization and at the present time, Trust for Public Lands have been chosen, decides how the land will 1 remain in a natural state and serve the proposes of showing the public in the future how natural areas existed in Florida. The sheet .with various species was compiled by Mr. Bidlingmayer over the years. i