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Proposed Mitigation — Contiguous tracts known as the SL Sebastian [IUD and AGC Industrial Tract contain about 40 acres of occupied habitat and about 50 acres of unoccupied scrub habitat. The remaining LIFIC011111littCd occupied and unoccupied habitat within the Wabasso Scrub Conservation Area (about 25 acres), Ali additional 5 acres of scrub (presumably unoccupied) is proposed to be acquired and added to the Wabasso Scrub tract, Five families are known to occupy diese lands. About 90 acres of occupied habitat and 50 acres of unoccupied habitat, and live scrub jay families would be protected under this proposal. By comparison, implementation of the previous conservation plan would have resulted in alteration ofabout 47 acres of habitat while 115 acres of occupied habitat would have been conserved and managed. Only four additional families would have been lost while 16 would have been protected. The County's cut -rent mitigation proposal would adversely affect 84 acres and protect and manage about 80 acres. Seven filrniliss w(.uld be lost while only five Farnifies would be protected. Though neither plan provides extreme benefits to scrub habitat beyond that currently available, the proposed mitigation plan results in substantial additional losses ol'scrub habitat and scrub jays. Based on these estimates, the current mitigation proposal provides long-term protection for only five scrub jay families as well as for those families that may eventually occupy publicly held scrub that is currently overgrown and unoccupied. In short, the current proposal could result in an additional loss of'65 percent of the renmining scrub jays in northern Indian River County. Added to losses since 1991, the proposal and past adverse affects would result in all 80 percent loss of'scrubjays. Oil October 4. 1996 f -AVS staffniet ,vidi you to discuss ramifications of the COLlflt3'*s recent decision to terminate acquisition of scrub habitat in Sebastian Highlands. According to our meeting notes. it was suggested that the C'OLIMV pursue any and all possible acquisition and management options available to offset the additional adverseaffects that housing construction in Unit 17 will have on Horida scrub jays, Although your letter indicates the County will not pursue the 34 AGC lots in Unit 17, subsequent conversations with you suggest acquisition may still be sought. We support this effort and believe the 34 AGC lots, in combination with Pelican Elementary School scrub, may provide enough suitable habitat to rilininlize the adverse affects of habitat fragmentation title to losses in the remainder of Unit 17. These scrub parcels, it'properly managed, may be essential -stepping stones" for the dispersal of.scrLIbjUVS front and to northern Indian River County, After reviewing tile COLMIX'S current proposal. \Nc found that acquisition of live acres ol'scrub has been added to the mitigation nicasures proposed during development of earlier conservation plans. Other possible actions that could benefit scrub jays, but were not addressee! in the current proposal include: • Development of individual scrub nianagvniciu. plans for the airport, Sebastian golf course, 3