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E:1 3.0 HCP PLAN AREA BASELINE INFORMATION 3.1 FWS Consultation History and Existing Data for Sebastian Highlands Scrub - Jay Habitat Lots L: The FWS consultation history and existing data for the Florida scrub -jay subpopulations residing within the HCP Plan Area are primarily recorded in 1 correspondence between the FWS, the City of Sebastian, and Indian River County. l The conflict between residential development and conservation of the Florida scrub - jay has been a predominant issue in the City of Sebastian from 1991 to the present. The number and location of the privately -owned platted Sebastian Highlands scrub lots for which the FWS has exerted jurisdiction pursuant to Section 9 of the ESA has evolved over time - a response to the population dynamics of Florida scrub -jays residing in an increasingly fragmented urban landscape. The information presented herein was collected from a search of the Indian River County Environmental Planning Section file on this long-standing issue and from consultations with Jan King, of the City of Sebastian Growth Management Department and FWS staff. Most of the data was derived from historical correspondence between the FWS, City of Sebastian, and Indian River County and informational tables generated by the City of Sebastian in order to track the Sebastian Highlands scrub lots designated by the FWS as occupied or potentially occupied by scrub -jays. Existing management plans for conservation lands purchased under the Indian River County Environmental Lands Program (FloridaAffinity, Inc. and Ecotech Consultants, Inc. 1995, 1996, 1998) and a scrub -jay survey conducted for the City of Sebastian (Carroll and Associates 1997) were also reviewed. The City of Sebastian is the only government entity involved in this issue that maintains a consolidated database of the Sebastian Highlands scrub -jay habitat lots that are subject to FWS review pursuant to the provisions of the ESA. This data base is referred to by the City of Sebastian as "Areas of Scrub Habitat" and is updated periodically by the City of Sebastian upon verbal release of a designated scrub lot by the FWS (J. King, City of Sebastian, pers. comm.). The FWS began to verbally release the Sebastian Highlands scrub lots in June 1995 (J. King, City of Sebastian, pers. comm.). In response to this FWS policy, the City of Sebastian maintains a ledger to track the regulatory status of the platted lots in Sebastian Highlands. The data base maintained by the City of Sebastian does not provide any demographic information with regard to the status of Florida scrub -jay occupation on the affected Sebastian Highlands scrub lots. The existing demographic: data presently used by the FWS to determine if a designate(] lot is occupied by scrub - jays is based ort surveys conducted by this agency in 1996 (M. Jennings, FWS, pers coram.). Currently, the FWS reviews the regulatory status of each designated Sebastian Highlands scrub lot on a lot -by -lot basis. At the request of the lot owner, the local FWS representative conducts a site visit to determine if proposed residential construction would result in adverse impacts to suitable scrub jay habitat 24