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Mar 16, 5:41 PM

Saving natural Brevard

Keep EELs in the business of preserving the Space Coast's high quality of life


Local environmental advocates are right in pushing for a referendum on November's ballot so more of Brevard County's fast-disappearing natural wealth can be saved before it's too late.

The referendum concerns the county's Beach and Riverfront program, in place since 1984 when voters authorized spending a bit of their property taxes -- 20 cents on every $1,000 of assessed valuation -- for purchase of beachfront and lagoon-front acres.

Since the program expires this year, advocates are proposing a farsighted and painless continuation of the assessment, but to buy inland scrub habitat as well as suitable lands that would connect existing conservation areas.

The funds would be channeled to the county's Environmentally Endangered Lands program, or EELs.

EELs has purchased much irreplaceable land since 1990, when voters allocated another small assessment -- 25 cents on every $1,000 worth of property -- to the program.

Taxpayers showed true vision in creating EELs, now a national model for the way local communities can help preserve nature.

But the effort has only about $4.4 million left for land acquisition, says Brevard County Parks and Recreation Director Chuck Nelson.

The switch would give EELs $4.35 million in yearly revenue, to be used to buy up more scrub lands.

We urge County Commissioners to put the referendum before the voters and work hard for its passage. We also ask voters to educate themselves on why preserving more of Brevard's environmental wealth is so terribly important.

Scrub may not sound like a precious commodity, but the biologically diverse land is one of our natural treasures, home to endangered scrub jays, gopher tortoises and rare plants.

But far more than wildlife is at stake -- like the water that comes out of your tap.

Inland scrub acres play a vital role in capturing rainwater and recharging the Floridan aquifer, which provides much of our drinking water and is being depleted because of Central Florida's explosive growth.

That's one of the big reasons that conservation is also a quality of life issue for residents.

Need another?

We have only to look at our beaches -- those once open sandy stretches now walled off by condos -- to know what lies ahead for the rest of Brevard if we don't make every effort to save some of our paradise from being paved over.

Some, including County Commissioner Ron Pritchard, say conserving such lands takes too much property off the tax rolls and can't be afforded when other programs such as roads or schools are underfunded.

He's wrong, because moving the Beach and Riverfront tax revenues to EELs won't take any dollars from those needs. He's also wrong because he fails to understand that saving land has major economic benefits.

Bulldozing Brevard's natural spaces diminishes its value as a place to own property, while saving sensitive lands helps Brevard stay an attractive place to live. That's essential to assure property-value appreciation for residents, most of whom count their homes as their major asset.

And that's why this common-sense change in tax allocation would be a sound move.