In July 2018, to begin the process of preserving and conserving the county's natural, historic, and working lands resources, the County Commission directed Planning Staff to develop a plan to conserve and manage conservation lands.  This plan was developed by County Staff with the assistance of the North Florida Land Trust (NFLT), a 501(c) non-profit operating in Nassau County and throughout North Florida. NFLT was retained by the county to bring their experience in the identification and acquisition of conservation resources to assist in the creation of a countywide Conservation Lands Acquisition and Management (CLAM) program.  NFLT utilized their experience in strategic conservation planning to develop for the county a plan to identify, rank, and assess conservation lands for acquisition and management.

An essential tool of the CLAM program is the CLAM Resource Ranking Map, a GIS (Geographic Information Systems)-based plan developed to create, analyze, and manipulate geographic information, known as data layers. These data layers are maps of resources which can be displayed as they overlap and interact, and where different statistical and analytical processes can be applied to better understand a landscape filled with multiple interacting resources.  Nineteen different data layers were selected for consideration, representing different potential conservation resources.  The different data layers all relate to one of the four most common considerations for acquiring conservation land: Water Issues, Habitat and Species Protections, Working Lands, Outdoor Recreation and Quality of Life.  This map is used to analyze properties being considered for acquisition.

The CLAM was adopted by the Board of County Commissioners on January 25, 2021.  The CLAM Committee was appointed in May 2021 and held their first meeting in July 2021.  The nomination period to accept nomination of properties to be considered for acquisition through the CLAM program ran from July 24, 2021 through January 31, 2022.  During this time, over 750 property nominations were received.

Staff reviewed the nominations and presented project recommendations to the CLAM Committee on May 19, 2022.  Over the next three months, the CLAM Committee reviewed, discussed, and ranked staff recommendations.  On August 25, 2022, the Committee finalized the ranking and made a recommendation to approve the top 25 projects out of 750 nominations. The Committee directed staff to forward the recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration of approval.  Staff will present the project recommendations and hold a discussion with Commissioners and citizens.