Martin poised to preserve more than 9,000 acres with environmental sales-tax funds

MARTIN COUNTY — The County Commission soon will decide whether to move forward with conserving more than 9,300 acres of sensitive environmental land.

Members of the county Environmental Lands Oversight Committee last month recommended protecting 9,328 acres, comprising 16 properties across the county.

"I think it's cool to be able to say we bought farmland and we even bought an acre right on the Atlantic Ocean," committee member John Keller told his colleagues on the committee Sept. 5.

No land has been purchased by the committee, but Keller's comment assumes the County Commission agrees with the oversight committee. If so, Martin County would be preserving one acre on Hutchinson Island and 53 acres being actively ranched.

Lands for preservation

If the commission and committee agree, about 5,000 acres in south-central Martin County and more than 2,200 acres in the southeastern part of the county also would be preserved.

For comparison, the city of Stuart comprises 4,000 acres.

Smaller properties would also be preserved, ranging from 642 acres to the 1 acre Keller referenced.

Commissioners are expected to vote Oct. 21 on the 16 properties as a package, said Michael Yustin, senior project manager in the Environmental Resource Division of Public Works. But they could vote on them individually, he said.

The county has two ways to preserve land under criteria voters approved for dedicated sales tax that provides money for the purchases.

The county could purchase and maintain land or it could buy the rights to develop the property. The land would remain in the hands of the original owner, but developers would be unable to build on the land because the county's contract with the owner would require it be preserved forever.

Money to buy it

Voters approved the half-percent sales tax in November 2024. The tax is expected to raise about $183 million over 10 years, all of which can be used to preserve land in perpetuity.

Once the county buys the land, the preservation is irreversible.

Martin County may get additional money by partnering with state initiatives, such as the Florida Forever program, which acquires conservation and recreation lands. That could bring the total available to $223 million.

Examples of properties

The 16 properties include the 1,499-acre Thall Family Property, which consists of large cypress and slough wetland systems in south-central Martin County.

Nearly half the land would be considered rare habitat. The potential for developing the property is low, considering it's underwater during the rainy season.

The JR Stuart Land property is 642 acres, which appears to be in excellent condition with limited evidence of human alteration, county officials said. It could provide opportunities for recreation and be managed as part of the John C. and Mariana Jones/Hungryland Wildlife and Environmental Area.

The potential for development is little to none, said committee member and former Stuart Mayor Merritt Matheson. But he sees the benefit of having it for recreation, he said.

"If the price is right, we should buy," committee member Tom Campenni said. "If it isn't, we shouldn't."

Following the committee's vote to send all 16 properties to the County Commission for approval, John Maehl, county environmental resource administrator, said, "This is one of those moments we'll will look back on 10-15 years from now and say this was a defining moment in making a permanent difference for Martin County."

Keith Burbank is TCPalm's watchdog reporter covering Martin County. He can be reached at keith.burbank@tcpalm.com and at 720-288-6882.