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BOOK 95 mA07 ANALYSIS ) eNultiple Benefits • Environmental Learning Center As with most of the County's proposed acquisitions, the Wabasso Scrub property purchase will enhance education in the County. With Wabasso Scrub, the educational function will be provided by the Environmental Learning Center (ELC). Located only ±2 miles from the Environmental Learning Center, the Wabasso Scrub property complements the natural resources existing around the ELC site. While the ELC currently has access to estuarine wetlands and the Indian River Lagoon, the Wabasso Scrub site contains endangered upland scrub as well as fresh water wetlands. With the County's proposed improvements, the Wabasso Scrub site will be accessible for the ELC. As proposed, the ELC will regularly use the Wabasso Scrub property for guided field trips as part of its on-going programs to educate county children and adults on the benefits of protecting endangered natural resources. In this way, acquisition of the property will provide educational benefits to Indian River County residents. • Riwanis-Hobart LWCF Conversion In 1976, the Winter Beach Cemetery Association, a non-profit corporation, asked the Board of County Commissioners for approximately 19 acres of Riwanis-Hobart Park for cemetery expansion. The Board, on August 27, 1980, formally dedicated the acreage to the cemetery association. However, that dedication was voided since a portion of Riwanis-Hobart Park was originally acquired with federal Land and Water Conservation Funds (LWCF), and the park was placed under a deed restriction under the authority of the Florida Department of Natural Resources (now DEP) and the National Parks Service (NPS). In order to release the 19 acres -to the Winter Beach Cemetery, a land conversion is required, whereby the County could deed a portion of the Riwanis-Hobart Park to the cemetery association if a non - recreational property is converted to recreational property of equal value. Over the years since 1980, the County has unsuccessfully offered conversion sites for the State's approval; none of these sites were accepted as having comparable characteristics. However, in coordination with State staff, it now appears that the Wabasso Scrub site has characteristics that will be accepted by the State and NPS as sufficient for a conversion. As such, the Wabasso Scrub purchase will help resolve the Winter Beach Cemetery expansion issue which has been outstanding for many years. • County Road Projects Scrub Mitigation Like other County acquisitions, the Wabasso Scrub property purchase provides multiple benefits. In this case, as with all acquisitions, staff is exploring the potential of obtaining mitigation credit from the land to be purchased, restored, and managed by the County. With Wabasso Scrub, staff has been negotiating with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to credit the land purchase, restoration and management as mitigation for impacts which will occur with construction of the west bound leg of the C.R. 512 roadway project in Sebastian. As designed, that project will impact +2 acres of xeric scrub habitat. Because the impacted area supports a 41 JUNE 279 1995