Conservation Advisory Council

Meetings

  • As posted

Meetings are held in person and Zoom video conference

If attending via Zoom, prior to signing in, make sure you have your first and last name displayed in your Zoom account. Attendees with non-identifying names will not be admitted into the Zoom meeting. Kindly, turn off your camera and microphone until prompted to turn it on by the Board member.

View Most Recent Agendas and Minutes

Overview

In New York State, Conservation Advisory Councils are established to advise in the development, management, and protection of the Town's natural resources. To this end, specific areas of concern for a CAC are to conduct research on land resources in the community via appropriate media, maintain an inventory of all Town Open Space, including marshlands, and recommend ecologically suitable uses for such lands in places. A CAC must also maintain an accurate recording of such activities. The Council's role is purely advisory, primarily to the Town Board, meaning the CAC has no decision-making authority by right. Instead, a Town Board will look to a CAC to provide advice and technical support on such matters as proposals affecting change to salt and fresh water wetlands, the Island's aquifer and woodlands, use of major parcels of open space, and management of Townlands. The CAC also has responsibility for recommending properties for inclusion in the Shelter Island Nature Preserve and developing land management plans for parcels included in the system. One of the CAC's major functions is education, to increase community awareness and involvement in the protection of our natural resources in a manner consistent with the Comprehensive Plan.