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drnab Ms ma", AaW Adtm, March 12;1999 SM LEGAL DEFENSE FUND, INC. The Law Firm for the Enviroamestal movement III .S• Martin "cr ling. Jr. Blvd„ TaUatasam Florida 32302 P.O. Bac 1329. Tallahame, Florida 32302 Via fax and electronic mail Commissioner Fran Adams .1840 25th Street Vero Beach, Florida 32960 Fax: 561-569-4317 Charles Vitunac, Esq. 1840 25th Street Vero Beach, Florida 32960 Fax: 561-6594317 Jeff Tabar Coastal Engineer Indian River County 1840 25th Street Vero Beach, Florida 32960 Fax: 561-770-5403/778-9391 JA Jergens, Esq. 505 Wekiva Spring Road, Suite 800 Longwood, Florida 32779 Fax: 407-772-2278 Thomas G Tomasello, Esq, P.O. Box 15828 Tallahassee, Florida 32317-5828 Fax: 850-671-2732 Thomas I. Mayton, Esq. Department of Environmental Protection 3900 Commonwealth Building, MS -35 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000 Fax: 850413=8977 BOOK 106 PAGE 719 (9041682-00;1 FAX (404) 691-OOso EMaiL- $dd!$olida@i"r org M.B. Adelson, Esq. Department of Enviroa,lututal Protection 3900 Commonwealth Building, MS -35 TWhhassee, Florida 32399-3000 Fax: 850413-8977 Perry Odom, Esq. Department of Environmental Protection 3900 Commonwealth Building, MS -35 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000 Fax. 850-487.4938 _ Dr. Al Devereaux Bureau of Beaches and Coastal Systems Division of Marine Resources Department of Environmental Protection 3900 Commonwealth Building, MS -35 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000, Fax: 850-488-5257 David Arnold Bureau of Protected Species Managemend Division of Marine Resources Department of Environmental protection 3900 Commonwealth Building, MS -35 Tallahassee. Florida 32399-3000 Fax: 850-922-4338 Kirby Green Deputy Secretary Department of Environmental Protection 3900 Commonwealth Building, MS -35 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000 Fax: 850-922-1432 Dear Commissioner, regulators, and interested parties: This letter responds to Tom Meyton's letter of yesterday afternoon. The Caribbean Conservation Corporation ("CCC''') wants to clarify its positions on several issues that the Department summarized in that letter. Fust, CCC did not state that it will not agree to the County's suggested change number 3 "in any form." The County's proposed change (as described by the Department in yesterday's letter) would require that "ad past County land acquisitions lm count towards mitigation (County has spent S1 IM buying beaches land the past two years)." March 11, 1999, letter from Mayton to Interested Parties at I (emphasis added). It is unclear where the beach land purchased is located. Clearly, if the purchased land is not "beachfront," then it has no beuc& to marine turtles and should not be considered mitigation for the effects of seawalls authorized by the County. CCC would accept language stating that previous beachfront land acquisitions in Indian River County (dating back a maximum of two years) may be considered by FWS as part of rho. County's mitigatoryactions under the HCP. However, we would want it clearly stated that those past acquisitions do not complete the Coumtq's commitment to carrying out beachfront land acquisition as part of the mitigation outlined in the HCP. It should be noted that we, the patties involved in this settlement agreement, cannot dletate to the FWS what will and will not coin as mitigation. On the matter of the Gerstner wall and its inclusion in the agreement, CCC believes there is an acceptable way to resolve this issue, as we mentioned to the Department yesterday. That would be to move the wall back to a position that minimizes impacts to marine turtles. CCC would not have a problem (again, as we mentioned to the Department Yesterday) with the Department paying for moving the wall back to the legal position. Perhaps CCUs suggestion that the Department pay for the cost of relocation is what prompted the Departotent to counter that CCC should pay for such relocation. MARCH 16, 1999 -104- ®