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Tax Assessor _ Coordination of Use Value program with <br />other conservation initiatives, such as <br />farmland preservation and property <br />appraisals necessary for buying <br />conservation 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 />I1. 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 />6 <br />