ABSTRACT
Palm Beach County, Florida, identified the best remaining ecosystems in its comprehensive plan and then proceeded to acquire these sites with a voter-approved bond. Using its innovative transfer of development rights program, the county now sells the development rights from these preserved lands and applies the proceeds to maintaining and extending its Natural Areas Program. Palm Beach County's 1980 comprehensive plan focused on confining urban development to areas that could be served by infrastructure and reducing densities in areas that were planned to remain rural. The cities in Palm Beach County have also contributed significantly to the total open space preservation effort. In 2002, Palm Beach County sponsored a plan for this area—the Northeast Everglades Natural Area (NENA) plan—which treats these preserves as a world-class destination comparable to a national park. The NENA plan aims to strengthen these interconnections by using a coordinated acquisition strategy and linking the various components with an extensive trail system'.
