By acquiring a 30-acre parcel in South County, the Land Trust now protects over 1,000 acres along the shore of the Indian River Lagoon, preserving the green view-scape of land that also performs natural water-filtration functions and provides wildlife habitat.
The 30 acres, purchased from a private family-owned corporation for $950,000, are contiguous to 191 acres about a half-mile north of the St. Lucie County border purchased by the Land Trust in 2011.
“It is exciting to reach this milestone, but even more exciting to acquire this important keystone parcel adjacent to the Coastal Oaks Preserve,” said Land Trust CEO Ken Grudens.
The Coastal Oaks Preserve property was cut off from U.S. 1 by private property, allowing only limited access, but Land Trust Director of Land Acquisition David Hueberger says the 30 acres complete the parcel and make it accessible so that a trail system open to the public can be created in the future.
The Land Trust was established in 1990 to save McKee Botanical Garden; since then, it has acquired many properties in Indian River County, stretching from south of Oslo Road to just shy of the Wabasso Causeway.
The cost over the years to purchase the 1,000 acres – which Grudens says includes 10 miles of lagoon shoreline – comes to $11 million.
The new purchase will reduce lagoon pollution in more than one way. Hueberger says all the water that drains off of U.S. 1 between Oslo Road and the county line flows into a retention pond adjacent to the 30-acre parcel and from there into a ditch that runs through the parcel to the lagoon. That runoff water is laden with oil and gas residue, break dust and other pollutants.
“The purchase will help us protect regional groundwater and prevent lagoon pollution,” says Hueberger. “There are some nice wetlands on the new property and by restoring them we will enhance purification [of the water that drains off of U.S. 1].”
The Trust also plans for the land to become a place for scientists and students to observe nature and conduct research, and for general community enjoyment.
The purchase was made possible through private donations and a sizeable loan from the Conservation Fund, a national nonprofit organization that partners with local entities on preservation projects.
The 30-acre Coastal Oaks Preserve purchase is the second time the Land Trust has worked with the Conservation Fund.
“The sellers needed to move quickly to close, and the loan from the Conservation Fund allowed us to complete the deal in the required timeframe,” Grudens says. “We couldn’t have done it without them.”
More information about the Land Trust and its properties, readers can visit www.irlt.org.
