Nassau County CLAM committee reports property‑owner outreach, plans July prioritization; adds senior planner and new member

At a meeting of the Conservation Land Acquisition and Management (CLAM) committee in Nassau County, staff and partner organizations said they have sent nearly 120 letters to property owners on the nominations list and will present a more‑vetted priority list at the committee's July meeting. Committee members also introduced a new senior planner assigned to assist the program and noted CLAM manual revisions are being prepared for committee review prior to Board of County Commissioners consideration.

The committee heard from Crystal Watson, a Land Trust partner, who described recent outreach: “We sent out, almost 120 letters and have gotten about 25% response. Of that 25%, about 80% are interested,” Watson said. Committee staff said they are using owner interest as a first “filter” before advancing nominations to the priority list.

Brandy (staff member) said the committee will prioritize properties where owners are willing to engage. “So as, as Miss Watson said, we are contacting the property owners, and we're putting a filter. Are you willing to have a conversation? So that's kind of the first filter,” Brandy said, adding that the goal is to present a more vetted list at the July meeting for committee recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC).

Committee members discussed timing and next steps. The group plans to skip a June meeting and meet every other month, with the next scheduled CLAM meeting on July 17; additional meetings were noted for Sept. 18 and Nov. 20. Staff said a draft of the revised CLAM manual will be circulated to committee members; the manual will require BOCC approval before any ordinance changes take effect.

Members introduced two committee matters of personnel and staffing. The BOCC approved two new committee members; Peter Simmons joined for his first meeting and Cathy Russell was noted as absent but expected to participate in future meetings. Senior planner Josh Macbeth, who recently moved into a county planning role, was introduced as a resource to support strategic planning, mapping and coordination with external programs such as the REPI (Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration) federal program.

No formal acquisitions, votes on project priorities, or BOCC actions were taken at this meeting. The only formal action recorded in the committee minutes was a motion to adjourn, which was moved and seconded and carried. The committee’s next substantive item is a July meeting at which staff plan to present a vetted list of properties for prioritization and continued review of the CLAM manual.