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Tax Assessor Coordination of Use Value program with other <br />conservation initiatives, such as farmland <br />preservation and property appraisals <br />necessary for buying conservation <br />easements <br />The department may also coordinate its work with other groups such as the <br />Schools and Land Use Councils and the Master Recreation and Parks Work <br />Group. <br />11. Tasks for the ERCD <br />To a degree, the tasks and workplan for the department will evolve along with <br />the goals and changes to the mission statement over time. There appear to be <br />eight areas of tasks and duties for the ERCD staff, based on the mission and <br />the May 25 memos. <br />A. Water Resources (ground water) Project. The Water Resources project <br />involves a 10- person Committee, a public education campaign and a <br />significant Ground Water Resource Investigation in conjunction with <br />USGS. The USGS resource investigation is entering the second of three <br />years and will wrap up in June, 2000. After final recommendations in year <br />2000, the work of this Committee is planned to merge into the <br />Commission for the Environment, and that group would begin to develop <br />implementation programs for ground water, and synthesize surface water <br />and ground water protection into an integrated program. This is the final <br />step of the Water Resources goal, and all of this would become the Water <br />Resources Element of the Comprehensive Plan. <br />B. Land acquisition plan /program for resource conservation and <br />parkland ( "Comprehensive Resource Acquisition Program "). The <br />Comprehensive Resource Acquisition Program is outlined in some detail <br />by Dr. Gordon in her second memo, and includes an assessment of the <br />loss of resources that has occurred to date, an inventory of resources at <br />present, and development of a program of easements and purchase for <br />the future that involve a number of approaches. Fortunately, some of the <br />preliminary GIS work in this area has been accomplished — but additional <br />efforts will be needed to complete the task, including the collation of data <br />from inventories previously compiled. This program will coordinate the <br />acquisition of land for historic sites, natural resources, parks and <br />recreation, and farmland — using matching funds and seed money from <br />the County. Initiatives already underway include the Schools /Land Use <br />Councils' efforts and the Master Recreation and Parks Plan. <br />C. Initiatives from the Commission for the Environment As a new group, <br />the Commission has yet to identify many of its programs or plans, but <br />clearly the efforts in water (linked with the Water Resources project), air <br />