news release

The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) is excited to announce that beginning March 1st, staff will begin accepting nominations for purchase of environmentally sensitive properties using $50M in general obligation funds that were approved by voters on November 8, 2022.

These funds are planned to be directed towards acquisition and preservation of environmentally significant lands to restore the Indian River Lagoon, protect water resources, natural areas, wildlife habitat, drinking water resources, and construct public access improvements.

Nominations will be reviewed and evaluated by the Environmental Land Acquisition Panel (ELAP) a nine-member advisory group which includes one appointee from each Commission district (appointed by the current Commissioner), 2 members with a broad background and professional experience in Natural Resources, 1 member with extensive professional experience in Real Estate or Finance, and 1 member with extensive professional experience in Planning and Engineering.

Staff will review each application and complete an initial screening of each property to ensure that minimum criteria have been met before processing the applications for consideration and evaluation by the ELAP. Properties will be evaluated based on criteria outlined within the Environmental Lands Program Guide (ELPG). Based on their review, the ELAP will rank properties for consideration by the BOCC for purchase. A copy of the nomination form, the ELPG, and the minimum criteria for property review can be found by going to indianriver.gov/conservation.