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The Yamato Scrub was formed by a long series of natural processes dating back millions of years. The former wetlands north of the site were originally the estuary of a river that flowed into the Atlantic Ocean when sea levels were higher. Sand from river transport and littoral drift built up in dunes on the south side of the estuary, and on the Atlantic shoreline south of the estuary mouth. These dunes became the scrub natural community found in the northern and eastern portion of the site. At the southern and western shoulders of the dune, shallower sand deposits resulted in the formation of the present-day pine flatwoods communities. In the low area between the dunes where no sand was deposited, a basin marsh formed that existed until recent drainage lowered the water table. When ocean water levels fell, and the Pamlico Ridge formed to the east of the Natural Area, the ridge blocked the estuary mouth, and a freshwater marsh referred to as the Yamato Marsh formed (Austin 1977). Excess water from the Yamato Marsh system and the basin marsh on site flowed south through a north-south wet prairie/marsh swale to the Hillsboro River, which had cut through the Pamlico Ridge. Vegetation type was largely determined by elevation - scrub was found at elevations 15 feet and higher, pine flatwoods between 15 feet and 11 feet in elevation, wet prairie and basin marsh between 11 and 9 feet in elevation, and deep freshwater marshes below 9 feet in elevation.

The first major disturbance in the vicinity of the Yamato Scrub Natural Area was the clearing in 1890 of a sand road that connected the northern and southern portions of what was then Dade County. This road ran from Lantana at the southern end of Lake Worth to Lemon City at the northern end of Biscayne Bay. This road would have been located approximately one mile east of the Natural Area, but an exact location is not known. Early street maps of Boca Raton show a county road existing on the same location that would later be occupied by U.S. Highway 1 or Federal Highway. It is possible that all or portions of the county road became U.S. 1. The next disturbance was the construction in 1895 of Henry Flagler's Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Indian River Railroad (the present-day Florida East Coast Railroad), which was located approximately 3/4 of a mile east of the site. The first settler in Boca Raton, Thomas Rickards, built a home the same year.

Flagler received most of the land adjacent to the railroad from the State of Florida as an incentive to build the railroad. He wanted to encourage the production of agricultural commodities on this land as a way to produce freight and passengers for his trains to carry. Flagler's Model Land Company sold some of the railroad land to Joseph Sakai in 1903, and worked with him to encourage Japanese immigrants to come to the area and farm Sakai's land. The first immigrants came in 1904 (Palm Beach Post, 1999) to what was now known as the Yamato Colony. Yamato is reportedly the Japanese word for "large, peaceful country". There were apparently difficulties in getting the immigrants entry into the United States, and railroad correspondence indicated that the immigrants had to be classified as "students" to get approval.

The Japanese settled on the north and south sides of Yamato Road just east of the Interstate 95 interchange. This area was just south of the Natural Area, and was on the same sand ridge that contains the scrub natural community on this site. The immigrants primarily raised pineapples as a cash crop, but also grew silk, tea, tobacco, rice, and peppers (Austin 1977). The colony thrived initially, and had 50 acres under cultivation by 1906. It grew to 40 to 50 persons and 10 dwellings by 1908 (Miami Herald 1944). Yamato Road was built eastward to connect to the Florida East Coast (FEC) Railroad and the county road. The profitability of pineapple farming declined when the FEC Railroad reached Key West in 1912 and provided easier and quicker transportation to northern markets for competing Cuban growers. Fungal diseases also reduced pineapple yields. Without a profitable cash crop, the younger members of the Yamato Colony drifted away to other pursuits, and the colony began a gradual decline which accelerated in the 1920s(Miami Herald 1944). However, the colony remained viable long enough to have a post office and a general store, and a railroad station was constructed at Yamato Road and the FEC railroad tracks in 1907(Austin 1977).

Other settlers also arrived in the Boca Raton area, and grew vegetables on the muck lands west of what would become the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, and citrus on the sand ridges. In the early 1910s, the state built Dixie Highway parallel to the FEC Railroad. In 1915, the Lake Worth Drainage District (LWDD) was formed, and began to dig a network of canals to drain the area west of the coastal ridge and east of State Road 7/U.S. Highway 441 that lay between Okeechobee Road and the Hillsboro Canal. Major north-south canals called equalizing canals were dug every 2 to 2.5 miles, and smaller east-west lateral canals were dug every half mile. Equalizing Canal 4 (known as the E-4 Canal in northern part of the site and the El Rio Canal in the southern ) forms the western boundary of the northern portion of the Natural Area, while Lateral Canal 40 (L-40 Canal) cuts the site in half. The E-4 Canal ran mostly through the center of a wetland swale system that was located between the coastal sand ridges and the more westerly pine flatwoods. It had a divide structure at the northwest portion of the site where Congress Avenue currently crosses the canal. This structure appears in a 1940 aerial photograph (USDI 1940) as a sand berm with a culvert going through the berm. The structure held water in the canal at a higher level on its northern side, presumably to allow for irrigation of nearby farm fields. The L-40 Canal extended eastward from a wetland swale system through the Yamato Scrub ridge to an arm of the Yamato Marsh that lay in the present-day Hidden Valley and Boca Teeca developments.

Initially, the LWDD canal system was not as wide or deep as it is presently, and was not as effective at draining the former wetlands on the Natural Area as it is today. The spoil from the canal excavations was placed along the canal banks, limiting direct surface flows into the canals. Although the canals did result in reduced and shallower hydroperiods in the site's wetlands, they did not end the functioning of the wetlands until a much later date.

In the 1920s, the Florida land boom was in full swing in the Boca Raton area, which previously only had agriculture as an industry. The Delray Manors subdivision was platted north of Yamato Road and east of the FEC Railroad, but only a few streets were cleared and no houses were built. Addison Mizner and his Mizner Development Company made plans to develop up to 16,000 acres in the Boca Raton area. In 1925, the City of Boca Raton was incorporated. Mizner Development platted the Villa Rica subdivision south of Yamato Road and east of the FEC Railroad, the Floresta subdivision north of Palmetto Park Road, and began construction of a grand resort hotel on the west shore of Lake Boca Raton. This hotel opened as the Cloister Inn in 1926. The roads in the Villa Rica subdivision were cleared, but no homes were built. Homes were built in the Floresta subdivision. In 1927, U.S. Highway 1 or Federal Highway was constructed through Boca Raton east of Dixie Highway, and the Seaboard Airline Railroad (present-day CSX Railroad) was built west of the city limits. The CSX Railroad today forms the eastern border of the Yamato Scrub Natural Area. Construction of this railroad was likely the impetus for the cutting of all of the slash pine trees on site which were large enough to have saleable timber. The existing cut lighter pine stumps at this site seem to date back to about this time.

The Florida land boom collapsed in the late 1920s after two devastating hurricanes and the end of the land speculation bubble as investors withdrew their money. Mizner Development Company went bankrupt and the Cloister Inn and surrounding lands were purchased by Clarence Geist. Geist called the inn and its grounds the Boca Raton Club, and his Spanish River Land Company filed plats and tried to sell lots. After Geist died in 1938, it was revealed that he had lost money on his real estate activities in Boca Raton. The City of Boca Raton and the Geist interests collaborated in the construction of the first Boca Raton airport in 1936. This airport consisted of a triangle of grassed runways and was located in drained wet prairie west of the El Rio Canal and north of Glades Road. The airport flooded after heavy rains. Federal Works Project Administration funds were sought for paved runways and a hangar building, but were apparently never obtained.

The first aerial photographs of the Natural Area were taken from a blimp by the U.S. Army in 1927, and were compiled into a coastal map by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1930 (USCGS 1930). These photographs are no longer in the public domain and were not available to ERM. The coastal map shows a site in which the natural communities seem to be intact. The LWDD Canals, Seaboard Airline Railroad, and Yamato Road are present, as are the clearings for the Yamato Colony. The Yamato Marsh is labeled as a grassy slough, but some of the higher spots are being are shown as cultivated fields. A jeep trail is shown on the map heading westward from Dixie Highway, across the FEC Railroad tracks, and around the southern end of the Boca Teeca arm of the Yamato Marsh. The trail then turned and headed northwest, crossing the Seaboard track and into the Natural Area scrub ridge. The trail continued northwest until it crossed the L-40 Canal, where it swung to the northeast and followed what was then the ecotone between the scrub community and the pine flatwoods. When the scrub ridge swung back to the west, the trail followed the ecotone westward and left the Natural Area when it crossed the sand berm control structure in the E-4 Canal. Portions of this jeep trail still exist in the northern and eastern portions of the site today. The first aerial photographs available to ERM were taken in 1940 by the U.S. Army Air Force (USDI 1940). They do not show many changes from the 1930 map. They show the City airport and the Yamato Colony clearings, which are now regrowing with vegetation. Water is still present in the Yamato Marsh, but the higher spots are exposed, and some are being farmed.

In 1941, Boca Raton had a population of around 400 persons, and the Yamato Colony had dwindled to two families (Miami Herald 1944). The United States' entry into World War II would cause drastic changes. The Army Air Force was looking for locations for year-round training bases, and Boca Raton lobbied heavily for a base to be located at its airport. Despite an Army visit that occurred when there was six inches of water on the runways, the airport was selected as the Army Air Force's main base for radar training. By December 1942, the Army had acquired or leased 5,820 acres of land, including most of the Yamato Colony and the Boca Raton Club. The base roughly extended westward from the FEC Railroad tracks to the Seaboard tracks and the present location of Military Trail, south to Palmetto Park Road but excluding the Floresta subdivision, and northward to the L-40 Canal. The only portion of the natural area within the base's border was the City- and County-owned tract north of Clint Moore Road. A 1945 map shows that the eastern border of the base was the same as the western border of the southern part of the Natural Area (U.S. Engineer Office 1945).

Construction of the Boca Raton Army Air Field started on June 29, 1942 and was completed on January 14, 1943. Construction companies were hired from all over south and central Florida and approximately 800 buildings were constructed along with a water and sewer plant. Two new runways were constructed to form another triangle north of the existing triangular runways, and all the runways were paved. Total cost for the air field was $10 million. The air field and facilities were constructed in the flood prone area west of the El Rio Canal, while the buildings were constructed on the higher scrub ridge east of the canal. The buildings were laid out in a dispersed, random fashion with minimal removal of existing vegetation, in order to reduce potential damage from enemy air raids. The only air base facilities near the Natural Area were the pistol and rifle ranges, which were constructed in the former wet prairie southwest of the natural area, north of Yamato Road and east of the El Rio Canal. A ditch was dug near the El Rio Canal to provide fill for a raised sandbank to stop bullets, and firing lines were established at 100, 200, and 300 yards.

The treatment of the two remaining Yamato families was especially unusual. They were well-regarded by their neighbors, and were considered no threat to the nation's war effort, so they were not interned as were many other persons of Japanese descent (Miami Herald 1944). After selling their land to the Army, they moved elsewhere in the area. One house was moved offsite and the other used for base housing. The farm sheds and buildings were torn apart to resemble a bombed village, and used as a training and obstacle course to teach aviators how to survive when shot down (Miami Herald 1944). This obstacle course was located in the former wet prairie located just north of present-day Spanish River Boulevard and east of the El Rio Canal (U.S. Engineer Office 1945).

By 1945, the air base hit its peak population of 16,000 persons stationed on site. After the war ended, the personnel were quickly discharged or transferred and the base was down to 2,500 persons by May 1946. In 1947, the decision was made to close the air base and move the remaining personnel to Kessler Field in Mississippi. A strong hurricane in the late summer of 1947 caused $3 million in damage to the base, and the base shutdown was accelerated. In 1949, the air field portion of the base, including the El Rio Canal, was turned over to Boca Raton to run as a commercial airport, and the other lands sold off to private individuals. The Boca Raton Club had already been sold off in 1944 and had been renamed the Boca Raton Hotel and Resort. Joe Moore bought the eastern portions of the base containing the housing areas and buildings, and platted them as the Boca Hills subdivision. Lots and buildings were sold to individuals, many of whom were former military personnel who had been stationed in the area during the war. They liked living in Florida, and decided to return. Today, virtually all of the air base's wooden buildings are gone, but some of the larger, more substantial buildings remain. Many of these buildings can be identified by their peculiar "H" shape. Most of the air base roads became Boca Raton streets, including portions of major roads such as Spanish River Boulevard, Boca Raton Boulevard, and NW 20th Street, which was the main base entrance. The northern and western portion of the air base, including the City- and County-owned tract, were sold to M.A. Weaver in 1950. He resold these lands to Arthur V. Davis in 1952, who transferred ownership to the Arvida Corporation in 1958.

During the 1920s and 1930s, taxes were not paid on the land in the southern and eastern portions of the Natural Area. The Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund (TTIIF) of the State of Florida gained title to the land under a 1937 law, and began to convey it to others for back taxes owed, while retaining oil, mineral and road right-of-way reservations. TTIIF deeds were issued between 1942 and 1951 and some of the land was conveyed several times. Deeds were issued to Lake Worth Drainage District, W.S. Carper, Boca Raton Land Corporation, Neil MacMillan, and Palm Beach County.

The 1947 hurricane and other tropical storms caused widespread flooding in south Florida. In 1948, Congress authorized the Central and South Florida Project to provide flood control, water supply, and protection of fish and wildlife resources in the region. The project would lead to the construction of 1,000 miles of canals and levees, 150 water control structures, and 16 major pump stations. The project would have a major effect on the region, with many wetlands systems drained or channelized, but would not effect the Yamato Scrub area until the early 1960s. However, localized drainage efforts for agricultural purposes continued, and a 1953 photograph (USDI 1953) shows a decline in flooded areas within the Yamato Marsh. The photograph also shows a new north-south drainage ditch running south from the L-40 Canal to the CSX Railroad, approximately 600 feet east of the El Rio Canal. This ditch increased the drainage of the wet prairie and basin marsh, including the portions in the City- and County-owned tract of the Natural Area. This ditch is still present in this tract today as a dry swale. The 1953 photograph also seems to indicate that a wildfire had occurred at the Natural Area several years earlier. This wildfire would have been the last natural fire to occur in the southern portion of the site.

Land holdings were rapidly changing hands at this time, although no construction of dwellings was occurring. A 1955 land atlas shows that the northern portion of the Natural Area was owned by Stonehenge Florida Corporation, while the southern portion was still owned by Boca Raton Land Company. By 1958, the southern portion was now owned by the Florida Boca Raton Housing Association and Centar Development Corporation. In 1958 and 1959, the City of Boca Raton annexed the Natural Area, and zoned it light industrial in the mid-1960s.

In the early 1960s, the Central and South Florida Project began to affect the site. The LWDD L-38 Canal, which previously terminated at the E-4 Canal, was extended eastward for 1.75 miles to the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) as the much wider C-15 Canal. The E-4 Canal between the C-15 Canal and the sand berm control structure was also widened at this time. Previously, the only outfalls for the E-4 Canal were the Boynton Canal to the north and the Hillsboro Canal to the south. Both of these canals were some distance away from the Yamato Marsh, which limited the drainage ability of the E-4 Canal. With a new direct route to the ICW, water levels dropped further in the E-4 Canal and virtually all the standing water in the Yamato Marsh had disappeared in a 1965 aerial photograph (Palm Beach County Property Appraiser 1965). The portions of the marsh north of the Natural Area were converted to cattle pasture by the MacMillian family and a cattle corral is present in the 1965 photograph. All the water in the basin marsh within the Natural Area also seems to have disappeared, leaving a herbaceous depression with scattered cabbage palms and remnant patches of sawgrass.

Development reached the vicinity of the Natural Area in the early 1960s. By 1962, the Hidden Valley Country Club had built a golf course on the portion of the Yamato Marsh lying east of the CSX Railroad and between the C-15 and L-40 Canals. The golf course was built in the lowest portion of the marsh, and roads were built on the surrounding higher land for housing. A new north-south canal was also dug between the C-15 and L-40 Canals approximately 600 feet east of the CSX Railroad. Houses were also being built at this time in the previously platted Delray Manors and Villa Rica subdivisions. Florida Atlantic University was founded in 1964 on the City-owned portion of the old air base. The airport was reduced to the area surrounding the northwest runway, and the rest of the site turned over to the university. Buildings were constructed on and between the former runways, and many of the old runways were used for parking areas. Other changes are also visible in the 1965 aerial photograph. An electric power transmission line had been recently constructed, running north along the west side of the El Rio Canal from below the Natural Area to the L-40 Canal. The power line turned east and cut through the Natural Area on the south bank on the L-40 Canal until it crossed the CSX Railroad. The power line then turned north and paralleled the railroad tracks until it crossed the C-15 Canal. Portions of the low scrub on the south bank of the L-40 Canal were cleared at this time to permit installation of power line poles. The jeep trail that cut across the scrub ridge in the southern portion of the Natural Area had fallen into disuse and had nearly disappeared by 1965. Vehicles were instead coming up from Yamato Road and paralleling the east side of the CSX tracks. They crossed the L-40 Canal on the east side of the CSX embankment, and crossed the railroad tracks, turning west on a new trail north of the L-40 Canal until it rejoined the older jeep trail. The new trail north of the L-40 Canal continued west past the jeep trail junction until it reached the E-4 Canal, where it turned north and paralleled the canal until it rejoined the jeep trail at the sand berm crossing. The 1965 photograph also shows some signs of a wildfire having occurred recently in the northwest portion of the site west of the former wetland. Charred areas are still visible today at the base of some of the cabbage palms in this area. This would have been the last known wildfire in the northern portion of the site.

The 1965 aerial photograph also shows a series of north-south cuts 200 feet apart in the vegetation in the southern portion of the Natural Area. These cuts were presumably for survey purposes to determine the elevation of the scrub ridge. The Boca Teeca Corporation purchased the entire Natural Area and the land east of the southern portion in 1967. Development of the land east of the Natural Area proceeded rapidly, and a golf course and condominium buildings are visible in a 1970 aerial photograph (Palm Beach County Property Appraiser 1970). The golf course was built on both the remnants of the Yamato Marsh and also on the scrub ridge. By 1970, Yamato Road had been extended as a two-laned paved road across the CSX Railroad and the El Rio Canal to Military Trail. Congress Avenue extended south to the C-15 Canal, where it stopped right after crossing the canal by a bridge. The 1970 aerial photograph also shows northwest-southeast survey cuts in the southern portion of the natural area; they are presumably for the extension of Clint Moore Road.

A surge in electrical transmission facility construction occurred at this time. The 1970 aerial photograph shows the newly-built Boca Teeca substation, which is located just south of the L-40 Canal and just west of the CSX Railroad. To provide access to this substation, a shellrock road was constructed on the east side of the El Rio Canal from Yamato Road to the L-40 Canal, where it turned east along the south bank of the canal and connected to the substation. This road runs through the western and northern portion of the City and County-owned tract, but Florida Power and Light (FPL) access rights have been terminated on this tract. FPL still has access rights on the portion of this road in the state-owned tract. Another FPL substation is present just west of the El Rio Canal and just north of the L-40 Canal. This substation was accessed from the west by a road on the north side of the L-40 Canal.

The 1970s were the decade of the roads at the Yamato Scrub Natural Area. In the early 1970s, Congress Avenue was extended southward as a two-lane road to Yamato Road. This road crossed the C-15 Canal, turned southwest and crossed the E-4 Canal over the old sand berm control structure, and turned and headed south to Yamato Road on a line 1000 feet west of the canal. This road now forms a portion of the western boundary of the Natural Area. The road was constructed on the eastern half of the right-of-way next to the site, with the western half reserved for future expansion. Congress Avenue was a deserted, low-traffic road in an uninhabited area when it was first constructed. The old jeep trail connected to Congress and provided an access for illegal dumpers, who for the next decade would dump huge amounts of used tires, other auto parts, and construction debris on either side of the western 500 feet of the trail. This debris was removed during site cleanup prior to acquisition.

In the mid-1970s, Interstate 95 was constructed just east of the CSX Railroad with an interchange at Yamato Road. A four-lane section of Clint Moore Road was constructed through the Natural Area at the same time. This section began at Congress Avenue and went east along the southern border of the City and County-owned tract. The road then curved to the southeast, crossing the Natural Area, the CSX Railroad and I-95 on an overpass with raised embankment, and connecting to Jeffrey Street in the Boca Teeca development. The embankment had a golf cart underpass built through it, presumably because the Boca Teeca Corporation had hopes of building another golf course on the Natural Area. Clint Moore Road was named after Clint Moore, a farmer and paving contractor who came to the area in the 1920s, and who sold the land for the original sections of the road to the County.

A 1977 aerial photograph (Palm Beach County Property Appraiser 1977). shows that the Arvida Corporation had established a plant nursery on its property south of Clint Moore Road and opposite the City and County-owned tract. This nursery was located in the former wet prairie between the El Rio Canal and a drainage ditch. Two of the 1960s survey cuts were being used by off-road vehicles - one led northwards from Clint Moore Road to the western edge of the Boca Teeca substation, the other led south from Clint Moore Road into the scrub where skateboarders had built a huge wooden ramp. The photograph shows that E-4 Canal had been widened between Congress Avenue and the L-40 Canal, with the spoil being dumped on the west side of the canal. Additional construction was also going on at the FPL substation west of the E-4 Canal. The sawgrass areas in the former basin marsh within the site had declined and thinned out to the point that Brazilian pepper could invade these areas, and this exotic pest plant is visible on aerial photographs for the first time.

The E-4 Canal between Congress Avenue and the L-40 Canal, and the L-40 Canal within the Natural Area were deepened and widened around 1980. The spoil from both canals was piled on the Natural Area on the east side of the E-4 Canal and the north side of the L-40 Canal. The E-4 Canal spoil is still present in a linear series of sand piles, although these piles were disturbed somewhat to remove imbedded debris during site cleanup prior to acquisition. Along the L-40 Canal, the spoil was leveled in the western section adjacent to the prairie hammock and disturbed former basin marsh, and piled up in the eastern portions that crossed the scrub ridge. The amount of spoil excavated in the eastern portion was so much that the piles reached heights of twelve feet, and the piles were so large that they completely covered and eliminated the old jeep trail north of the L-40 Canal. The rest of this trail west of the spoil piles and next to the E-4 Canal also fell into disuse at this time.

The excavation for the L-40 Canal was deep enough to reach calcareous materials, which was rapidly colonized by Australian pines when exposed in the spoil piles. It is presumed that this canal was deepened to provide better drainage for the Hidden Valley and Boca Teeca developments. The deepening and widening of the canals were the final death blow for the former wetlands within the Natural Area. The deeper canals pulled ground water levels down to a little as 4 feet in elevation. Brazilian peppers rapidly spread and covered the former wetland areas with muck soils, while pine flatwoods vegetation and weedy grasses invaded the areas with sandy soils. Standing water only occurred for short periods of time in small depressions that were underlain by hardpans or other impervious soil layers.

The 1980s saw a surge in construction in the vicinity of the Natural Area. The Boca Raton Golf and Tennis Club was under construction on the land north of the L-40 Canal and west of Congress Avenue and the E-4 Canal. A 1984 aerial photograph (Palm Beach County Property Appraiser 1984) shows the scrub ridge on this site being leveled and the dirt spread in the adjacent portions of the Yamato Marsh. The Arvida Corporation had also begun to develop its land holdings west of the Natural Area and south of Clint Moore Road as the Arvida Park of Commerce, which was an industrial park. The area just west of the Natural Area was platted in mostly 5-acre lots as Plat No. 6. Arvida also sold the land containing the City- and County-owned tract to the Hemingway Corporation in 1979. After being transferred to a trustee, the City- and County -owned tract was sold to Knight Investments, Inc. in 1985.

A 1984 aerial photograph (Palm Beach County Property Appraiser 1984) shows that Park of Commerce Boulevard had been extended from the west across the El Rio Canal, after which it turned north and ran along the east side of the old drainage ditch. It stopped short of connecting to Clint Moore Road, being blocked by the Arvida Nursery, which had expanded its growing area to the east from the original site. One industrial lot was already developed by 1984, and the aerial photograph shows that the AGES Group jet engine overhaul facility was under construction adjacent to the southwest corner of the natural area. The 1984 photograph also shows that Clint Moore Road has been extended to Military Trail from Congress Avenue, and the Yamato Road has been widened to four lanes on both sides of the I-95 interchange.

In 1983, the Royal Palm Audubon Society of Boca Raton developed a citizen's initiative to protect in perpetuity examples of each type of historic ecosystem that was present in the County in pre-development times. These ecosystems were called "wilderness islands" as many were isolated by urban and agricultural development. The best examples of these ecosystems were proposed to be identified throughout the county, and purchased for preservation. These "wilderness islands", one of which was the Yamato Scrub, were to be used and enjoyed without harm by present and future generations. In 1984, other conservation groups and individuals joined with Royal Palm Audubon Society to form the Coalition for Wilderness Islands (CWI), and to take the Wilderness Islands proposal to the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners. The Board accepted this proposal in concept.

Industrial development was also occurring in the vicinity of the northern portions of the Natural Area in the early 1980s. Development of 44 acres of the Boca Teeca-owned land northeast of the site was underway in 1984 as the Boca Commerce Center. Site preparation for a warehouse/office complex is visible in the 1984 aerial photograph. The warehouse/office complex was built on the scrub ridge, while dredge and fill activities were undertaken on the Yamato Marsh portions of the 44-acre site. Access to the construction site was by a fill road extending from Congress Avenue along the northern border on the Natural Area. Construction vehicles were also using the old jeep trail, which connected the construction site to Congress Avenue, and which appears to be significantly wider in the 1984 photograph. The current NW 6th Avenue entrance was not built until the buildings were constructed. Dumping of undesirable soils is visible in the northern portion of the former basin marsh.

In 1983, the remaining 283 acres of the Boca Teeca-owned land, including 207 acres of the Natural Area, were approved by the City of Boca Raton for development as an industrial/warehouse/office park called the Kovens Commerce Center. Only 7 acres of this site was scheduled for preservation. Because of the size and impacts of the project, it was declared to be a Development of Regional Impact (DRI), which required review by the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC). There was substantial public opposition to the project, based largely on the need to preserve the dwindling scrub habitat in Palm Beach County, and TCRPC wanted up to 115 acres of the site preserved. A development order was issued in November 1984 releasing the northern 167 acres of the project, called Area A, for development. Area A included most of the Natural Area north of the L-40 Canal. No development was allowed in the 115-acre Area B, which was mostly south of the L-40 Canal, until further study determined how much of Area B would need to be preserved to protect its existing environmental and natural resource values. If the study indicated that a portion of Area B could be developed consistent with preserving these values, then an amended application for development approval would be submitted and treated as a substantial deviation from the original development order (TCRPC 1984).

The 1984 development order did not require any preserves in Area A, but required that all listed plant and animal species in Area A be relocated to Area B prior to development. In 1985, ten gopher tortoises out of an estimated population of 54 tortoises in Area A were relocated to Area B. In 1986, 21 scrub lizards were relocated from Area A to Area B, and 60 Florida mice were trapped in Area A. The surviving 37 Florida mice were relocated into Area B, the others having been eaten by predators while in the traps, or having died of unknown causes during the two weeks they were held in captivity before relocation (Richardson, et al. 1986).

In 1984, CWI worked for state preservation of the Yamato Scrub. It applied to the Florida Department of Community Affairs (DCA), which was then administering the Conservation and Recreational Lands (CARL) Program, for state acquisition of 260 acres of the Yamato Scrub. The application was not successful, but resulted in state officials visiting the site and in DCA preparing a report on the site. CWI also held a half-day educational program on the site that year. In 1985, the City of Boca Raton, supported by CWI and using the DCA report, unsuccessfully resubmitted the 260-acre acquisition proposal to CARL. The City , without the support of CWI, resubmitted the site as a smaller 56-acre project in 1986, but the proposal was also unsuccessful. A 65-acre proposal was approved for project assessment in 1987 and for project design analysis in 1988, but the City requested that further action be deferred until DRI issues on the site were resolved. In 1991, the City's and County's joint proposal for the 247-acre Yamato Scrub CARL project received enough votes to be accepted for ranking. The project was ranked 43rd on the 1992 CARL Priority List.

In 1986, as part of the Wilderness Islands proposal, the County agreed to fund an inventory of native ecosystems in Palm Beach County by two Florida Atlantic University professors and their students (Iverson and Austin, 1988). The study was completed in 1988, with additional work in 1989. An advisory committee was established in 1989 to recommend which sites should be acquired and how to fund the acquisition program. In 1990, the committee recommended 14 priority sites for acquisition, and a bond referendum. The Yamato Scrub was one of the 14 priority sites. The County scheduled a $100 million Environmentally Sensitive Lands Bond Issue Referendum for March 12, 1991. The referendum passed by 2 to 1 margin. The City of Boca Raton followed a similar course, and City voters approved a $12 million bond referendum in October 12, 1991 to purchase environmentally sensitive lands within the City. The Yamato Scrub was one of the sites eligible for City purchase with bond funds.

Two research prescribed burns on the scrub natural community in the Natural Area were conducted in early 1986 by Kovens Commerce Center consultants. The purpose of these burns were to maintain habitat diversity. Both burn sites were roller chopped and most of the sand pines present were felled several weeks prior to the burn. The first burn, in January 1986, was on the southernmost 10 acres of the Natural Area. The second burn, in February 1986, was on approximately 10 acres between Clint Moore Road and the L-40 Canal. Both burns resulted in an unacceptably dense scrub oak monoculture. Sand pine regeneration was minimal and the few sand pine seedlings that appeared were eaten by rabbits (Austin 2000). It appeared that the roller chopping cut and fragmented the scrub oaks' root systems, resulting in resprouting from the cut root ends that was far more numerous than the amount of resprouting from burned scrub oaks with intact root systems.

A July 1986 study by the developer's consultants concluded that it was necessary to preserve all of Area B south of Clint Moore Road, which was approximately 64 acres, in order to preserve the existing environmental and natural resource values of Area B (Richardson, et al., 1986). The developer did not ultimately accept this conclusion, presumably because it would result in a larger preserve size than the standard 25% of native habitat that was recommended by TCRPC. A new consultant was hired, who recommended in 1988 that only 29 acres was necessary to be preserved in Area B (Gaby and Gaby, 1990). TCRPC objected to this recommendation because the preserve was less than 25% of the native habitat. In December 1990, the developer submitted to TCRPC a substantial deviation application for development approval for the site, now known as Boca Commerce Center, that met the 25% requirement by preserving 46.5 acres of the site. The proposed preserves consisted of 15.7 acres in Area A, 21.2 acres in Area B, and 9.8 acres in various edges, setbacks, and buffers. The new proposal also requested that 65 acres of the site be approved for 1,083 dwelling units, which required a land use amendment and created new problems with traffic impacts.

While the development proposals for the Kovens/Boca Commerce Center were in process, other changes were occurring in the vicinity of the Natural Area. Survey cuts were visible in the northern portion of the Natural Area in a 1987 aerial photograph (Palm Beach County Property Appraiser 1987). In 1987, Congress Avenue was widened to four lanes, as was Clint Moore Road west of Congress Avenue. By 1987, the Arvida Nursery was gone and the land platted as Arvida Park of Commerce Plat No. 9. Park of Commerce Boulevard was extended to connect to Clint Moore Road, and additional buildings were being built adjacent to the southern portion of the Natural Area. In 1988, a Marriott hotel was built north of the existing Boca Commerce Center buildings.

Early in 1991, the owners of Boca Commerce Center sold 19 acres of the site to Kraft Foods. In December 1991, they signed a option contract with the Nature Conservancy, who was an agent for the County, to sell more than 200 acres of the site for 82.5% of the appraised value. In March 1992, a joint acquisition agreement for the Yamato Scrub was approved in which CARL would provide 50% of the funds, the County 34%, and the City 16%. A second option contract was signed in June 1992 with the owners of the Boca Commerce Center that reduced the sale acreage to accommodate drainage and road needs for the Kraft tract. In July 1992, the Nature Conservancy obtained an option to purchase the 10-acre Knight tract in the Yamato Scrub for 82.5% of appraised value.

An economic recession started in late 1991, resulting in the demand for industrial parcels disappearing and land values falling. Activity on Boca Commerce Center DRI substantial deviation application stalled, as concurrency issues and traffic impacts remained unresolved, and the application expired in March 1992. When the appraisal values for the Boca Commerce Center were released in August 1992, the $11.7 million contract price was well below the $30 million expectations of the owners. The appraisers cited the bulk sale of the property and the 10-year estimated buildout of the site as the reasons for the lower value. The owners objected to the appraisal methods, said that they were misled about the value of the property, and claimed that the entity who signed the contract on their behalf wasn't authorized to sign it. The owners failed to provide information and perform required tasks under the contract. In early 1993, the County, City and State all agreed to sue the owners to force them to fulfill the contract, and legal proceedings were filed in March 1993.

The Knight tract owners accepted the appraised values and moved to sell their property. Because state regulations required that the largest tract be purchased first, the State could not participate in the purchase of the Knight tract. The City agreed to provide the State's share along with its share, which was 66% of the purchase price. The County agreed to provide the other 34%, and share ownership with the City. After issues relating to site cleanup and future assessments were resolved, the City and the County purchased the Knight tract for $1,402,500 in March 1994. The City provided $925,650, and the County $476,850 of the purchase price.

After the County filed its law suit, other lawsuits were filed in relation to the Boca Commerce Center tract acquisition. Settlement offers were made by the Boca Commerce Center owners to sell half of the site and put a regional mall on the other half, and to pay the County to drop its claims against the property. These settlement offers were rejected. The ownership of the property came into question, and a bankruptcy proceeding was filed. The real estate market rebounded and demand for industrial land revived. In late 1995, a settlement was reached. The price for 207 acres of the Boca Commerce Center was set at $17.5 million with the State providing 33.1% of the funds, the County 45.5%, and the City 21.4%. The County agreed to pay 2/3 of the unpaid back taxes and the City agreed to pay the remaining 1/3. It would take another year for all the complications of the settlement to be worked out. In February 1997, the Boca Commerce Center tract was purchased, with the State providing $5,800,000, the County $7,956,000, and the City $3,744,000.

In 1993, construction began on a Congress Avenue/I-95 interchange and a Park-and-Ride lot just north of the Natural Area on land formerly owned by the Knight interests. This interchange was reportedly the result of active lobbying by the Knight interests. Although Kraft indicated a willingness to consider selling its tract for preservation, they were unwilling to wait until the Boca Commerce Center litigation was over. Construction of the Alliant Food warehouse on the Kraft tract began in 1993. NW 6th Avenue was extended 200 feet and a 2.5-acre stormwater retention area was constructed west of the Kraft site in the former basin marsh. The retention area was scraped down and an earth berm constructed around its perimeter. This retention area has since been colonized by transitional wetland species such wax myrtle, saltbush, and coastal plain willow, as well as exotic plant species. A linear strip of scrub was preserved on the southern border of the Kraft tract, just north of the Natural Area.

The Boca Raton Shrine Club also grew tired of waiting for the litigation to be settled and built a meeting hall and a parking lot on their 3-acre tract in 1994. This tract lay between Clint Moore Road and the L-40 Canal and separated the City- and County-owned tract from the Boca Commerce Center tract. The remaining vacant tracts in the Arvida Park of Commerce adjacent to the southern portion of the Natural Area were either developed or under construction by 1996. A self-storage facility was built in 1997 on the land west of the City- and County-owned tract between Clint Moore Road and the L-40 Canal. The northern portion of the Natural Area received extensive use by off-road motorcycles during the period of litigation. Operators of these vehicles widened existing trails, created new trails, and built ramps and jumps. The ramps were removed during the pre-acquisition clean-up, and use by off-road motorcycles ceased after the County fenced off the access points.

A 50-year management lease to the County for the Boca Commerce Center tract was executed on February 24, 1998 (Appendix F). Construction of the Peninsula Corporate Center began on the property formerly owned by the Knight interests northwest of the Natural Area and west of Congress Avenue in 1999. Costco purchased the commercially-zoned land west of the E-4 Canal and the Natural Area, east and south of Congress Avenue, and north of the L-40 Canal in 1999, presumably for a superstore. A 2-acre cutthroat grass relocation project was started in 1999 in a portion of the former wetland west of the Kraft stormwater retention area. Brazilian peppers were removed, the site was scraped down a foot, and a temporary irrigation system was installed. Cutthroat grass clumps were brought in and planted from another site that was being developed. A small wildfire occurred on the north side of the L-40 Canal in the eastern portion of the Natural Area in May 2000.

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