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Comprehensive Plan Conservation Element o County acquisition of conservation easements on the "Padgett Branch" ranches in western Indian River County (±1585 acres) and on the +462 acre Sexton Ranch on 82nd Avenue; o SJRWMD acquisition of +12,000 acres for water management and wetland restoration in the Upper St. Johns River Basin; o County acquisition of other lands under the County Environmental Lands bond program; and o Conservation of native uplands under conservation easements on private development sites, as a result of the County's native upland set-aside land development regulations (±500 acres). In 1996, the county held 1,010 acres of native habitat in conservation. Since 1996, the county has conserved an additional 9,384 acres of native habitat, including approximately 500 acres of native habitat in upland set-aside areas related to private development. As the County continues to acquire land for conservation, a major issue is how much environmental land acquisition is enough. In terms of how much is enough, a specific acreage amount is less important than acquisition benefits. According to the County's environmental lands acquisition program guide, a major objective is for the County to acquire environmentally significant lands that contribute to wildlife corridors and greenways that interconnect existing conservation areas. Appropriately, the County's adopted Environmental Lands Program Guide identifies the following wildlife corridors as warranting conservation: o Indian River Lagoon Blueway (including the St. Sebastian River Greenway) o Atlantic Coastal Sand Ridge (Winter Beach area) o Ten -mile Ridge (between CR 510 and SR 60) o Western Indian River County (west of Blue Cypress Lake) Combined, unprotected natural areas within these corridors total more than 50,000 acres. Because of financial constraints, it is not economically feasible or practical for the County to acquire that amount of acreage for conservation. Consequently, the land acquired under the County's environmental lands program is guided more by the amount of funding available for acquisition than by the amount of land warranting conservation. For the County to succeed in conserving significant environmental lands within the referenced wildlife corridors, a number of approaches, beyond just fee -simple acquisition, have to be employed. Those approaches include transfer of development rights, less than fee -simple purchase of conservation easements, requirement(s) of natural area set -asides associated with new development, and requirement(s) of"greenbelts" for new towns established outside of the Urban Service Area. Given the amount of land that has been conserved over the past ten years by means other than fee -simple acquisition (i.e., through upland set-aside requirements), it is reasonable to conclude that conservation Community Development Department Indian River County 103