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Oct 8, 6:48 PM

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Vote 'yes' on the EELs referendum to preserve more of Brevard's unique natural resources

Important races cover Brevard County ballots Nov. 2, and few are more critical than the race to save what's left of our natural treasures.

That's why residents must use this chance -- which could be the last one we get in fast-growing Brevard -- to help preserve endangered lands by emphatically voting "yes" on Referendum 2.

Called the Environmentally Endangered Land and Water Areas Bond Referendum, the common sense measure won't take any new dollars out of taxpayers' pockets.

But it will ensure more of the unique Space Coast environment we love will escape the insatiable appetite of the bulldozers, and help keep the quality of life in the county high.

Here's how the conservation referendum will work:

A "yes" vote will enable a small portion of property tax money the county has been spending on the Beaches and Riverfront Preservation program to be channeled to the Environmentally Endangered Lands program, or EELs, a similar program voters strongly approved in 1990.

The change is needed because the Beach and Riverfront program was passed by voters in 1984 and ends this year.

EELs now raises about $5.7 million annually through a small property tax assessment of 25 cents per $1,000 in property value. But the added dollars the referendum would provide are needed to help purchase some of the 70,000 acres EELs still wants to preserve.

Those lands are a mix of precious and irreplaceable habitat:

Wetlands near the Indian River Lagoon, biologically diverse scrub grounds where endangered species such as the gopher tortoises make their home, and stately pine flatlands and oak hammocks.

Those lands are wonderfully scenic, but EELs doesn't purchase them just for their beauty. Consider this:

Preserved lands, especially those in the lagoon's watershed, filter out pollution from development before it reaches and further damages the imperiled estuary and its marine life, which is increasingly stricken by pollution-caused diseases.

And those diseases, scientists say, could eventually be passed to humans unless more steps are taken to protect the lagoon.

Rain that falls on preserved areas replenishes the shallow aquifer from which some Brevard residents draw a portion of our increasingly scarce drinking water.

The importance of this cannot be overstated, considering Brevard's swelling population and the fact that drinking water supplies from the Floridan Aquifer, from which much of Central Florida and Brevard gets its tap water, are rapidly thinning out.

Futhermore, natural areas provide recreation opportunities for communities and neighborhoods, as well as boosting the property values of homeowners who live nearby.

Those green spaces hold lasting value as more subdivisions and strip malls spring up, and once laid-back areas of Brevard are gobbled up by concrete, asphalt and urban sprawl.

What would approval of the referendum mean to your pocketbook?

The owner of a $100,000 house with a $25,000 homestead exemption who now pays $15.64 annually for the expiring beach and riverfront program will see that same amount going to EELs instead.

And that painless continuation of the assessment could help bring in co-funding from state and federal sources for more land purchases as well.

We're certain the EELs program -- already a nationally recognized model for how local communities can preserve green space -- can be trusted to spend the newly targeted assessment dollars wisely.

We say that because its track record is excellent.

We're also certain voters care deeply about keeping Brevard an enjoyable home for humans and wildlife, now and for future generations. They've proven that in 1984 with the beach and riverfront land purchase program, and again in 1990 with support for EELs.

Now is the chance for Brevard residents of today -- many of whom are newcomers who moved here precisely because of our county's natural blessings -- to show the same foresight that others have in the past.

So come Nov. 2, we urge voters to approve preserving the county's pristine but fast-disappearing lands from the relentless pace of development by supporting Referendum 2.

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