President Of Montauk-Based Environmental Advocacy Organization Stepping Down

Concerned Citizens of Montauk (CCOM) recently announced that its President, Jeremy Samuelson, who has been with the organization since 2012, will be stepping down at the end of March, 2017, to join The Nature Conservancy as the Director of Mashomack Preserve on Shelter Island.

“Montauk is a place of unparalleled beauty,” Samuelson noted. “It has been my honor to be a part of the Montauk community and to work with CCOM’s members and Board of Directors in protecting our natural resources.”

While at CCOM, Samuelson helped expand the organization from solely volunteers to a professionally staffed environmental advocacy organization. Late last year, CCOM was awarded a $20,000 grant by the Long Island Community Foundation (LICF) to help fund, “Save the Lake – Save the Pond”, a community-wide campaign that aims to improve water quality in Lake Montauk and Fort Pond.

“The environmental threats facing Montauk and the entire Peconic Estuary are complex and require long-term, comprehensive solutions,” he explained. “I will miss working each day in Montauk but look forward to continuing to partner with CCOM and the many organizations working to ensure Montauk remains a natural wonder.”

CCOM, which was founded in 1970, has developed into one of the most effective environmental groups in Eastern Long Island. It has played an important role in successfully protecting more than 70 percent of Montauk’s land.

“CCOM has come a long way under Jeremy’s leadership. Together, we have been entrusted with upholding and advancing CCOM’s decades-long legacy of environmental leadership,” shared Ed Braun, Chairman of CCOM’s Board of Directors. “CCOM is proud of our work protecting Montauk’s fragile environment and look forward to continuing our leadership in cleaning up Montauk’s local waters and developing a long-term coastal resiliency plan that protects Montauk’s natural shoreline and our economy.”

While CCOM has not found Samuelson’s replacement yet, his successor will no doubt have a long lasting impact on the area. “We have a strong and engaged Board of Directors and have already begun our search for a new President,” Braun added. “CCOM’s next President will build on our work to protect Montauk for future generations. Jeremy will be missed but we understand that his new position is an opportunity he could not pass up. We wish him success and look forward to continuing to work with him, albeit in a different capacity, to Keep Montauk Montauk.”

For more information about Concerned Citizens of Montauk, call 631-238-5720 or visit www.preservemontauk.org.