(a) The commissioner may approve a natural area preserve only upon the recommendation of the Natural Area Preserves Advisory Committee and only after public hearing and upon notice. The notice required by this section shall set forth the substance of the proposed action and describe, with or without legal description, the area affected and shall set forth the time and place of the hearing, and shall be published at least once in the Connecticut Law Journal not less than fifteen days nor more than sixty days before such hearing. Such notice shall also be published twice in a newspaper having a substantial circulation in the municipality or municipalities in which the natural area is situated, at intervals of not less than ten days, the first not more than forty-five days nor less than thirty days, and the last not less than five days before such hearing.

(b) In addition to lands owned by the state or conveyed to the state within ninety days after designation, the commissioner may approve and the Governor may designate as a natural area preserve land subject to a conservation restriction, as defined in section 47-42a, where such conservation restriction has been conveyed to the state. Any conservation restriction agreed to by the owner and the commissioner shall contain rights and restrictions to protect the qualifying features of the land and shall include a statement of the public purposes served by the conveyance and a statement that the commissioner shall hold such interests in trust for the public as a natural area preserve as designated by the Governor under the terms and authority of sections 23-5a to 23-5i, inclusive. Such conservation restriction shall be conveyed by deed to the commissioner who shall record such deed on the land records in the municipality in which such land is located.

(c) The owner of land designated a natural area preserve pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall notify the commissioner before sale or transfer by deed or lease of the land or other interests therein. The commissioner may not regulate or prohibit such sale or transfer. The executor of a will or the administrator of an estate shall notify the commissioner whenever such lands are transferred by will or as part of an estate.

(1969, P.A. 727, S. 4; 1971, P.A. 872, S. 162; P.A. 91-65, S. 4; 91-358, S. 3.)

History: 1971 act replaced reference to state park and forest commission with reference to environmental protection commissioner; P.A. 91-65 added requirement that natural area preserves advisory committee recommend approval of a preserve before the commissioner may approve such preserve and added new Subsecs. (b) and (c) concerning designation of private land as natural area preserve where such land is the subject of articles of dedication entered into by the landowner and the state; P.A. 91-358 amended Subsec. (b) by removing reference to dedicated land and substituting conservation restriction in lieu thereof and added provision requiring conservation restrictions to be conveyed by deed and filed in the local land records.