complete agenda - Florida Department of Environmental Protection

the remaining 51 within the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The total
acreage protected by these Agreements is 29,149.25 acres, with a total cost of
$21,959,524.50.
With the dissolution of the Green Swamp Land Authority, the Trustees of the Internal
Improvement Trust Fund were given the responsibility of administering and monitoring
the existing Agreements. DSL now oversees monitoring these Agreements as part of its
responsibilities under its conservation easement program.
Monitoring
The Office of Environmental Services (OES), Division of State Lands, is the primary
entity responsible for monitoring landowner compliance with the terms and restrictions of
our conservation easements and land protection agreements. Three of our easements
(Volusia County Conservation Corridor/Plum Creek-Relay Tract, Ranch Reserve/Mills
Ranch, and Cedar Swamp/Deep Forest) are monitored by the St. Johns River Water
Management District. Phase I of Fisheating Creek is monitored by the Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commission as part of their management of the fee-simple
acquisition in that project, and the Bureau of Mine Reclamation monitors the easement
over the Green Swamp/Jahna Industries easement. The latter still has an active mine on it
that will eventually be restored to a more natural state. Finally, the U. S. National Park
Service is monitoring the 7.4-acre Mercer conservation easement in the Northeast Florida
Blueway.
OES has entered into contracts with four consultants to monitor our conservation
easements and land protection agreements. Only two conservation easements have not
been monitored at least once. Promise Ranch closed in March, 2009, and is scheduled to
be monitored for the first time in the Fall, 2010. Bailey’s Mill closed in December,
2009, and is scheduled to be monitored for the first time in Spring, 2011. We have
monitored our conservation easement and land protection agreement properties every 18
months.
We have had no violations of terms and conditions of any conservation easement or land
protection agreement in the past year.
Our total expenditures for monitoring in FY 2009/2010 came to $90,243.58 for 53,235.91
acres monitored by the Office of Environmental Services, or $1.70 per acre.
Because of significant budget cuts to stewardship funds allocated to the Division of State
Lands, the Office of Environmental Services has been unable to schedule monitoring site
visits for FY 2010/2011. Our consultants have been notified that we will issue no task
assignments for conservation easement monitoring during the current fiscal year. The
Division intends to recommence its contracted conservation monitoring program when
adequate funds become available. In the meantime we are exploring possible
alternatives, including monitoring several randomly chosen properties each year.