LATEST UPDATES

Celebrating 25 years of Conservation at Kampoosa Bog

The Kampoosa Stewardship Committee invites the interested public to attend an event celebrating the 25th anniversary of the conservation restriction placed on Kampoosa Bog by the property owners, the Marian Congregation of Stockbridge.  This conservation restriction paved the way for an ACEC designation in 1995, recognizing the bog as a statewide significant, pristine, and fragile ecosystem.  The celebration will take place at 1pm on June 5, 2009 at the Marian Fathers’ property, the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge overlooking the open water of the Bog. You may reserve a spot for a canoe tour of the Bog immediately following the event.  Please see the invitation for more information and to RSVP.

Upper Housatonic River Informational Meeting

The ACEC Program will host a public meeting to discuss the Commonwealth’s newest Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) and explore the potential to establish a volunteer stewardship committee. The public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 28, from 7-9 p.m., at Lenox Town Hall Auditorium, 6 Walker Street, Lenox, MA.  At the meeting, ACEC Program staff will explain the ACEC designation, describe the area’s resources, and answer questions about the effects of designation. Meeting attendees will have an opportunity to discuss stewardship goals for the area. Interested residents, municipal staff members, and representatives of municipal boards and local or regional organizations are encouraged to attend. Read DCR’s Press Release here (link to press release).

Please see the new webpage for the Upper Housatonic River ACEC here (link to new webpage).

MassGIS’s ACEC Datalayer is updated!

The ACEC Datalayer available through MassGIS has been updated to include the last two ACECs designated, the Three Mile River and Upper Housatonic River.  The total number of ACECs across the state is now 30, in portions of 76 communities totaling 268,000 acres. 

Upper Housatonic River designated as 30th ACEC

On March 30, 2009, Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Ian A. Bowles designated the Upper Housatonic River Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). The ACEC covers approximately 12,275 acres in Lee, Lenox, Pittsfield, and Washington. The newest ACEC becomes the 30th ACEC in the Commonwealth. The combined acreage statewide is now over 265,000 acres in 76 communities.  A public meeting will be held in the spring to describe the effects of ACEC designation and to discuss the formation of a volunteer stewardship committee for the area.  For more information, please see the EEA Press Release , the designation document , and maps - color or black and white.  More information will be posted on the ACEC Program website soon.

Three Mile River Watershed ACEC to hold first ACEC Stewardship Meeting

The first ACEC stewardship meeting for the Three Mile River Watershed will be held on Thursday, January 15, 2009, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Norton Town Hall, 70 East Main St, Norton, in the 2nd floor meeting room.  If required, a snow date of January 22 has been scheduled for the same location and time.  The meeting will help explain the ACEC designation, give people the opportunity to ask questions, and begin to establish stewardship goals for the ACEC.  Interested residents, municipal staff, and representatives of municipal boards and local or regional organizations are encouraged to attend.   If you are unable to attend but would like to join the stewardship committee, please email Jennifer Carlino, Norton Conservation Agent at conservation@nortonmaus.com or call 285-0275.

Upper Housatonic River ACEC Nomination Public Hearing Re-Scheduled

A Public Hearing to receive testimony regarding the proposed Upper Housatonic River Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) Nomination, covering approximately 12,280 acres in Lee, Lenox, Pittsfield, and Washington, has been re-scheduled for Thursday, January 29, 2009, 7:00 – 9:00 PM at the Lenox High School Theater, 197 East Street, Lenox. (* Snow date is Thursday, February 5, 2009 at the same time and location.) The public notice will be published in the December 24th, 2008  Environmental Monitor and in local newspapers.  A copy of it can be read here.

The deadline for written comments submitted to the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs is ten days following the public hearing - by February 9, 2009. 

Comments should be addressed to:

or via email to Secretary Bowles c/o the ACEC Program at the email address:  elizabeth.sorenson@state.ma.us

For more information on the nomination, including a map of the nominated area see the nominators' website at http://savethehousatonic.org.

DEC. 11 PUBLIC HEARING FOR UPPER HOUSATONIC RIVER ACEC NOMINATION CANCELLED!

The Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary's Public Hearing scheduled for 7 p.m. December 11th at Lenox Town Hall has been cancelled due to ice storm warnings. Public comments on the proposed Upper Housatonic River Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) are still solicited in writing and the ACEC Program will post the rescheduled date for the Public Hearing as soon as possible. The date will be in late January (or later) to meet required 30-day public notice requirements.

Upper Housatonic River ACEC Nomination Public Information Meetings Fact Sheet

A handout prepared for the four public information meetings held at the end of October can be found here.  This fact sheet includes updated information regarding the 401 Water Quality Certification Regulations and the Wetlands Protection Act Regulations including the "limited project" provisions of the Wetlands Regulations that provide for limited work affecting Bordering Vegetated Wetlands within ACECs.

Upper Housatonic River ACEC Nomination Public Hearing Scheduled

A Public Hearing to receive testimony for the proposed Upper Housatonic River Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) Nomination, covering approximately 12,280 acres in Lee, Lenox, Pittsfield, and Washington, has been scheduled for Thursday, December 11, 2008, 7:00 – 9:00 PM at the Lenox Town Hall Auditorium, 6 Walker Street in Lenox.  The notice was placed in the November 10th, 2008.  Environmental Monitor and can be read here with the Secretary’s letter informing the nominators of the announcement.

The deadline for written comments submitted to the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs is ten days following the public hearing or by December 22, 2008.  Comments should be addressed to:

or via email to Secretary Bowles c/o the ACEC Program at the email address:  elizabeth.sorenson@state.ma.us

For more information on the nomination, including a map of the nominated area see the nominators' website at http://savethehousatonic.org.

Availability of Three Mile River Watershed  

ACEC Boundary Data  

The GIS datalayer with the boundary for the newly designated Three Mile River Watershed ACEC is available from the ACEC Program by request.  The update to the MassGIS statewide datalayer is in progress but delayed due to slight changes in the mapping of the boundaries to ACECs adjacent to the Three Mile River Watershed ACEC.

Upper Housatonic River ACEC Nomination Accepted for Full Public Review; Public Information Meetings Scheduled

The proposed Upper Housatonic River Watershed Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) Nomination, covering 12,280 acres in Lee, Lenox, Pittsfield, and Washington, was accepted for full public review on September 29th by EEA Secretary Bowles.  The nominated area includes the 13-mile corridor of the Upper Housatonic River, adjacent floodplains, tributary streams, and the steep slopes of October Mountain, with significant wildlife habitats and public open space properties.

You will find more information in Secretary Bowles’ letter to the nominators.

The ACEC Program together with the nominators will hold a public information meeting in each proposed ACEC community to educate interested citizens about the nomination, the ACEC Program and the effects of ACEC designation.

Each meeting begins at 7 p.m. The schedule of meetings is:

Tuesday, October 21

Lenox Town Hall, 6 Walker Street, Lenox;

Wednesday, October 22

Pittsfield City Hall, 70 Allen Street, Pittsfield;   

Tuesday, October 28

Lee Town Hall, 32 Main Street, Lee;

Wednesday, October 29

Washington Town Hall, 7 Summit Hill Road, Washington.

Here is a printable public meeting schedule. Following the public meetings the Secretary and ACEC Program staff will determine whether more public information meetings are required before scheduling a public hearing. Public comment is solicited. The Secretary makes a decision whether to designate the nominated area within 60 days following the public hearing. The full nomination document and maps are online at http://savethehousatonic.org.

Upper Housatonic River ACEC Nomination

On September 2nd, the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs received a nomination proposing the Upper Housatonic River ACEC. The proposed Upper Housatonic River ACEC nomination covers approximately 12,280 acres in Lee, Lenox, Pittsfield, and Washington and includes natural and cultural resource areas of regional significance. The Secretary will review the nomination and decide to accept or deny it for full review or request additional information within the next few weeks. If the nomination is accepted for full review, the ACEC Program will administer the review over the course of the next 4 - 6 months. There will be public information meetings in each community culminating in a public hearing. The full nomination document is available online at http://savethehousatonic.org.

Three Mile River Watershed ACEC Designation

On August 25, 2008 Secretary Ian A. Bowles designated the Three Mile River Watershed Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). The ACEC covers approximately 14,275 acres in Dighton, Norton, and Taunton in southeastern Massachusetts. The newest ACEC increases the total number of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern throughout the Commonwealth to 29. The combined acreage statewide is now 255,275 acres in 74 communities.  A public meeting will be held in the fall to describe the effects of ACEC designation and to discuss the formation of a volunteer stewardship committee for the area.  See the announcement in the Environmental Monitor for the designation document and map.  More information will be posted on the ACEC Program website soon.

ACEC Staff Announcements

The ACEC Program is in a period of staff transition.  The Program is thrilled to be able to announce that Beth Suedmeyer is now working as the new ACEC Inland Coordinator. Beth comes to us extremely well-qualified from the Wetlands Restoration Program in the Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) and has excellent GIS and regional planning skills. She will be coordinating the Inland ACECs for stewardship groups, MEPA project reviews, and new ACEC nominations as she gets acquainted with the program, and will assist in statewide efforts as well. We look forward to having her as part of our program!

Lisa Berry Engler, Coastal ACEC Coordinator, is on maternity leave September through December 2008.  While Lisa is out, we are fortunate to have the assistance of Matt Lustig as a short-term contractor, and we look forward to having him onboard to help with Program administration, research, and other projects.

Contact Liz Sorenson (617-636-1394; elizabeth.sorenson@state.ma.us) for ACEC Program information.

For more information, Contact Us.