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Last year, the County contracted with Lisa Smith of Smith Environmental Services (SES) to develop a scrub. jay HCP, which has now been completed The plan is an integral part of the process for the County and City to obtain an "incidental take permit" (ITP) from the FWS .to release for development platted residential lots in the Sebastian Highlands that are currently occupied scrub -jay habitat. SES, in coordination with county staff and the FWS, as well as with staff from the City of Sebastian and the School Board, has developed a plan that will conserve enough critical scrub habitat on publicly owned land to sustain the Sebastian -area population of scrub -jays, and still allow release of the platted lots for development. Initially, there were as many as 2,000 lots identified in the Sebastian Highlands as scrub -jay habitat and warranting protection under the Endangered Species Act Over the years, however, due to more detailed surveys and due to habitat loss from overgrowth, there are now 317 lots identified as occupied scrub -jay territory. The HCP as written will not only result in release of the 317 lots for development, but will also release all —14,000 lots in the Highlands from any potential future constraints that may otherwise occur if displaced scrub -jays move to lots not currently occupied by scrub -jays. To offset the loss of scrub -jay occupied habitat that will occur when the 317 lots are developed, the HCP proposes that the County conserve and manage, w perpetuity, 280 acres of scrub land acquired under the county environmental lands bond program. In addition to that, the plan calls for the protection and management of —12 acres of scrub on the Pelican Island Elementary School campus and —32 acres of occupied scrub jay habitat on the Sebastian Municipal Airport property. Here is a bullet summary of the plan: Implementation of the HCP will release for development 317 platted lots (-79.3 acres) in the Sebastian Highlands currently occupied by scrub -jays. The plan will also release all --14,000 platted lots in the Sebastian Highlands (as well as airport and Pelican Island Elementary School property not conserved under the plan or previously) from any potential future constraints that may otherwise occur if displaced scrub -jays move to other lots, airport or school property not currently occupied by scrub -jays. To off -set the destruction of occupied scrub -jay habitat that will result from the incidental take permit issued in conjunction with the HCP, the following "compensation areas" on public lands (-324 acres) will be conserved, restored, and managed in perpetuity. —280 acres of scrub on lands acquired by the County under the county environmental lands program (the North Sebastian Conservation Area, the Wabasso Scrub Conservation Area, and the Sebastian Highlands Conservation Area) —32 acres of occupied scrub -jay habitat on the Sebastian Airport property, and a 100 -foot wide "dispersal corridor" buffer along the southwestern edge of — 90 acres of industrial land on the airport property (that will remain unrestricted for future industrial development). —12 acres of occupied scrub -jay habitat on the Pelican Island Elementary School campus currently used and managed for outdoor environmental education programs. Restoration and management of the compensation area of scrub to be conserved consist of two main activities: removal of mature trees (by a timber company to be contracted by the County), and incremental prescribed burns. NOVEMBER 16, 1999 -107- BOOK PAGE