What does CLEAR stand for?
Conservation Lands, Easements and Recreation.
How and why was CLEAR created?
Legislative requirements passed in 2016 (253.87, Florida Statutes) required DEP to include in FL-SOLARIS conservation lands and easements within the state of Florida that are owned and retained by federal government, counties and municipalities. CLEAR is the resulting system that enables DEP to meet this requirement. The goal of the legislation is to create a single source of conservation land data, governed by standards to ensure accurate and consistent data and reporting.
What is conservation?
Maintaining this state’s unique natural resources; protecting air, land, and water quality; promoting water resource development to meet the needs of natural systems and residents of this state; promoting restoration activities on public lands; and providing lands for natural resource based recreation.
What is conservation land?
Lands that were acquired for conservation or are currently managed for conservation, outdoor resource-based recreation or archeological, cultural or historical resources, geologic or natural features and native ecosystems. Lands may have facilities for public use or have biological communities that are managed for preservation.
What is a permanent conservation easement?
A permanent conservation easement is a perpetual right or interest in real property that is appropriate to retaining land or water areas predominantly in their natural, scenic, open, agricultural or wooded condition; retaining such areas as suitable habitat for fish, plants or wildlife; retaining the structural integrity or physical appearance of sites or properties of historical, architectural, archeological or cultural significance; or maintaining existing land uses and which prohibits or limits certain identified (often detrimental) activities.
What is a Financially Disadvantaged Small Community?
"Financially disadvantaged small community is a county, municipality or special district that has a population of 10,000 or fewer, according to the latest decennial census, a per capita annual income less than the state per capita annual income as determined by the United States Department of Commerce.” (253.87, F.S. refers to the definition provided in 403.1838 (2), F.S.). Financially disadvantaged small communities have until July 1, 2019 to verify their initial data in CLEAR while all other organizations have until July 1, 2018.
How do you login to the CLEAR system?
Once you have been granted access to the DEP Business Portal and the CLEAR system, please login to the DEP Business Portal to access the CLEAR system.
How do you extract your data for your organization?
To easily access and view your current data, Hover over 'Data Services' on the Menu bar and select 'Data Extractions' to download a Microsoft Excel formatted (.xlsx) file containing your current data for Conservation Owned Lands and Conservation Easements. Files that are downloaded from the 'Data Extraction' screen are in the proper format for uploading any Conservation Owned Land and Conservation Easement data on those corresponding Upload Screens found on the 'Land' drop-down on the menu bar. The records in these files may be edited to change the data in the columns of existing records and to add rows of data for records to be added to CLEAR.
