[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Camden 6-8-1999. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A Conservation Commission is hereby established pursuant to Title 30-A M.R.S.A. §§ 3261 to 3263, to consist of seven members appointed by the Board of Selectmen, all of whom shall be residents of the Town. The terms of office shall be three years except that initial appointments after the date of adoption of this chapter shall be such that the terms of no more than three members shall expire in any single year. For that purpose, the Board of Selectmen shall initially appoint three members for terms of one year, two members for terms of two years, and two members for terms of three years, such that the terms of 1/3 of the members shall expire each year.
The purpose of the Conservation Commission shall be to serve as a research, advisory and advocacy group on environmental and conservation issues relating to the Town.
All members of the Commission shall be selected upon the basis of their knowledge of or interest in conservation, environmental science or related fields.
The Commission:
A. 
Shall keep records of its meetings and activities and make an annual report to the Town;
B. 
Shall conduct research in conjunction with the Planning Board into local land areas;
C. 
Shall seek to coordinate the activities of conservation bodies organized for similar purposes;
D. 
May keep an index of all open areas within the Town, whether publicly or privately owned, including open marshlands, swamps and other wetlands, for the purpose of obtaining information relating to the proper protection, development or use of those open areas. The Commission may recommend to the Board of Selectmen or to any board of the Town or to any body politic or public agency of the state a program for the better protection, development or use of such open areas, which may include the acquisition of conservation easements;
E. 
May advertise, prepare, print and distribute books, maps, charts, plans and pamphlets which it considers necessary, if municipal appropriations provide financial resources to do so;
F. 
Shall undertake any other conservation or environmental activity referred to it by the Board of Selectmen;
G. 
May recommend to the Selectmen the acceptance of gifts in the municipality's name for any of the Commission's purposes;
H. 
Shall carry out the guidelines in the Camden Community Forest Management Plan approved by the Board of Selectmen.
A. 
The members shall annually elect from their membership a Chairperson, a Vice Chairperson and a Secretary.
B. 
All meetings of the Conservation Commission shall be open to the public, and notice, if required by law, should be provided to the public about such meetings.
C. 
Minutes shall be kept of all meetings.
Nothing contained within this section shall supersede the provisions of the Town Charter or the Code book of the Town of Camden. No powers and duties which may be exercised by conservation commissions under state statute which are not explicitly provided in this article may be exercised by the Commission created herein.