At first reading council reviewed an ordinance to transfer roughly 333 acres of city-owned conservation/open-space parcels to Columbus & Franklin County Metro Parks and to authorize a memorandum of understanding for trail operations; developers and Metro Parks executives praised the public-private partnership.

Staff told the CLAM committee it aims to close roughly five properties by the end of October, will present revised Piney Island management to the committee and BOCC on a set schedule, and said the county has pledged a contribution to partner with North Florida Land Trust on an NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program application.

County staff announced a roughly $489,000 salmon-recovery grant to build a framework that will assess net ecological gain and loss from county regulations and programs, partnering with the Thurston Conservation District and outside expertise.