LATEST UPDATES

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 Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs press release may be read here .

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 Beth (617-626-1352; beth.suedmeyer@state.ma.us) or Liz Sorenson (617-636-1394; elizabeth.sorenson@state.ma.us) for ACEC Program information this fall.

Three Mile River Watershed ACEC Nomination Public Hearing Scheduled and Proposed Boundary Extension Accepted for Full Public Review

A Public Hearing to receive testimony for the proposed Three Mile River Watershed Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) Nomination, covering 14,200 acres in Taunton, Norton, and Dighton, has been scheduled for Wednesday, 6/25, at Benjamin Friedman Middle School, 500 Norton Avenue, Taunton at 7pm. The announcement in the Environmental Monitor can be read here. 

This public hearing will also hear testimony regarding the proposed boundary extension for the proposed Three Mile River Watershed ACEC which will add 50 more acres along the Three Mile River in Dighton and Taunton to its confluence with the Taunton River in order to include globally rare species and anadromous fish habitats. The extension will be included as part of the full public review of the ACEC nomination. Read the Secretary's letter of acceptance here and see more information and a map of the nominated area on the nominators' website at http://www.ibiblio.org/virtualcell/acec/.

To learn more about the Three Mile River Watershed ACEC Nomination, including the additional 50 acres, and to learn about the ACEC nomination and designation process, come to the Public Information Meeting scheduled for Thursday June 12 at the Dighton Grange Hall in North Dighton at 7 PM, or contact Liz Sorenson, ACEC Program Director.

Three Mile River Watershed ACEC Nomination Accepted for Full Public Review; Public Information Meetings Scheduled

The proposed Three Mile River Watershed Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) Nomination, covering 14,200 acres in Taunton, Norton, and Dighton, has been accepted for full public review by EEA Secretary Bowles. The announcement in the Environmental Monitor can be read here.  The ACEC Program together with the nominators will hold a public information meeting in each 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.:

Monday, 4/28, at Benjamin Friedman Middle School, 500 Norton Avenue, Taunton;

Tuesday, 4/29, at Norton Public Library, 68 East Main St., Norton; and

Thursday, 5/1, at Dighton Grange Hall, 1111 Somerset Ave., Dighton.

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 is online at http://www.ibiblio.org/virtualcell/acec/.

Three Mile River Watershed ACEC Nomination

On February 27th the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs received the first new ACEC nomination in five years. The proposed Three Mile River Watershed Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) nomination covers 14,200 acres in Taunton, Norton, and Dighton and includes 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://www.ibiblio.org/virtualcell/acec/ .

Pleasant Bay ACEC Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) Update

The Pleasant Bay Resource Management Alliance, the local stewardship group for the Pleasant Bay Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), has released the Pleasant Bay Resource Management Plan 2008 Update for public comment. The update is available on the Alliance’s website at http://www.pleasantbay.org/.  The 2008 Update is the second five-year plan update mandated by the intergovernmental Alliance. The 2008 Update provides a summary of implementation actions undertaken by the Alliance and the Towns over the past five years, recommendations to be carried forward and new recommendations and actions to be undertaken in the coming five years. It is intended to describe progress and chart a course for coordinated management activity within the Pleasant Bay ACEC and watershed. A public meeting to review the Plan Update is scheduled for Thursday, March 6th. The ACEC Program will be reviewing this document on behalf of the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs after the Plan update has been adopted by the four Pleasant Bay communities later this year.

2nd Annual Great Marsh Symposium

The Great Marsh, stretching from Salisbury to Gloucester, has been an important part of daily life on the North Shore since its earliest use by Native Americans. Salt marsh haying, farming, fishing, shipbuilding, and the arts continue to link our past to the present.  The Great Marsh ACEC encompasses 25,500 acres of the core resources of the area. Attend the Great Marsh Coalition’s 2nd Annual Symposium for an outstanding roster of experts providing presentations about our coastal treasure. The Symposium will be held on Saturday, April 12th from 8:30am to 2:30pm at the Parker River Wildlife Refuge Headquarters in Newburyport. Optional field trips will be held from 3 to 4pm  with a choice of one of three locations. $12 pre-registration required. For registration call 978-462-9998 or go to www.greatmarsh.org for more information.

Squannasit and Petapawag ACECs Amended

The Environmental Monitor dated December 10, 2007 publicly noticed the decision by Secretary of Energy and Environment Ian Bowles to amend the Squannassit & Petapawag ACECs. The Secretary amended the ACECs to extend their effective dates specific to the Great Ponds and waterways subject to c. 91 jurisdiction to December 11, 2009. As a result, any owner of a structure within these ACECs and subject to waterways regulations may apply for a c.91 license during the extension period. Municipalities will also have additional time to prepare resource management plans. A copy of the notice can be viewed here.

The ACEC Program and MassDEP Waterways Program will hold a public information meeting to describe the effects of the amendments and answer further questions concerning c91 licensing and guidelines for preparing resource management plans in the new year.

MassDEP Announces Public Hearings for c. 91 Regulation Revisions

The Environmental Monitor dated December 10, 2007 also notices proposed changes to the waterways regulations, 310 CMR 9.00, that implement Governor Patrick’s directive to reduce timelines for permitting without compromising environmental standards. These proposed regulation changes include a revision to the categorical restrictions in 310 CMR 9.32(1)(e) that will allow existing structures to remain eligible for licensing if they existed prior to the effective date of ACEC designation. Public hearings will be conducted across the state to receive input on the proposed changes with the closest hearing to the Squannassit and Petapawag communities being held at the Department of Environmental Protection Northeast Regional Office on Friday January 4, 2008 at 4:00 pm. Written comments will also be accepted until 5:00 PM on January 17, 2008. A copy of the Public Notice can be viewed here. A summary of the proposed regulation changes can be found here.

New Online ACEC Maps

The ACEC Program is excited to announce new ACEC online maps!  These online maps show ACEC boundaries from two perspectives - from an individual ACEC index map and from zoomed in close-ups.  For general information, view the Index Map of an ACEC on one sheet with roadways and municipal boundaries. For more detailed information, view larger scale maps (ACEC Map Tiles) with a USGS topographic Quad base that show a portion of the ACEC at a time (depending on the size of the ACEC).  These maps are intended to be used with the written boundary description contained in the ACEC designation document linked on each ACEC web page.  To access these new maps, go to the desired ACEC page and look under the ‘Maps’ section on the right side of the page. An ACEC Statewide Index summarizes the new ACEC map information statewide and is also available on each ACEC page.  For more information about these maps go to the About ACEC Maps and Boundaries page.

ACEC Management Tools

Tools available on our website include:

Revised Resource Management Plan Guidelines

Online boundary viewer mapping tool

Summaries of Coastal ACEC Stewardship Grants

Planning tools and models from different ACECs

Updated boundaries and resource overlay maps for ACECs on Cape Cod

Designation documents

For more information, Contact Us.