Hamilton Conservation Commission
Town Hall, Hamilton, Massachusetts 01936
The Hamilton Conservation Commission was established by the voters of the town to promote the preservation of the town's natural resources. It is an appointed board with responsibilities including reviewing projects that could affect the town's wetlands resource areas under the authority of the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act (MGL Ch. 131, S. 40, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection) and the Hamilton Conservation Bylaw (Ch. 17). It also carries on open space planning, conservation education and public awareness projects.
Open Space Planning, continued... Do you notice how every time you turn around another woodlot or farm field is suddenly sprouting houses? Planning for the continued existence of the open spaces and trails that give Hamilton its character is a continuing challenge.
Remember the public meetings and questionnaires a few years back about what you wanted Hamilton to be like in the future? A group of citizen volunteers (maybe you were one of them) made your answers into an Open Space and Recreation plan which was accepted by the Massachusetts Division of Conservation Services. This effort has been helping to guide town boards, and it paid off in a big way when it helped us to qualify for state funds to protect Gordon Woods (see below).Open Space and Recreation Plans offically last for five years so ours is due to be updated for 2002. More discussions, more maps, more writing! We need your help. Call the Conservation Commission if you'd like to be involved. You can participate at any level, from simply speaking up at a public meeting (see the newspapers and this space for dates) or sending us a letter with your thoughts, to actively taking part in the research and writing team. We had about a dozen active participants last time and we all got a lot out of it.
One topic we will surely all need to think and talk about is whether Hamilton wants to participate in the Community Preservation Act recently passed by the legislature. Start getting your ideas and arguments ready now.
Gordon Woods Protected!
Thanks to a great many private donors, the Massachusetts Division of Conservation Services, the towns of Hamilton and Manchester-by-the-Sea, and a coalition of nonprofits including Essex County Greenbelt, Hamilton-Wenham Open Land Trust, Manchester Conservation Trust, and the Trust for Public Lands, the public now owns this outstanding 113 acre parcel as conservation land. Along with an additional 100 acres in Manchester and new public trail access to the intervening 250 acre parcel of Manchester watershed land, this makes a new permanent greenbelt over three miles long -- a rare event in this day and age. Many miles of fine trails for hiking, cross-country skiing, etc. A management committee is continuing to oversee access and maintenance. Contact the Hamilton Conservation Commission for details.
Biodiversity Days in Hamilton
With the idea that the first step in protecting the environment is to know what is in it, Hamilton Conservation Commission is participating in Massachusetts Biodiversity Days. These events are to bring attention to a multiyear statewide project by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs to encourage the participation of interested amateurs in listing occurrences of as many species of nonmicroscopic plant and animal life as possible in all the towns of Massachusetts. There are not enough professionals to complete a project of this scope unaided, and it is hoped that the same kind of help that amateur birders have given to the field of ornithology can be brought to bear on a wider range of organisms. With interest and a willingness to observe, it is possible for people who are largely self-taught to make a contribution, while at the same time enjoying the outdoors.Go to statewide Biodiversity Days web pages...
Go to Hamilton Biodiversity Days web pages...
Welcome Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions Members!
We were excited to hear such nice comments about this website at the last annual meeting of the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions at Worcester. We encourage other Commissions to consider using a website for communications with the public and their membership. With current software designed for non-expert users, like Microsoft Frontpage, you can maintain such a site with a very modest level of volunteer effort. Please chek out this site often as new information is on the way. Commissioners interested in staying in touch as an informal network on how technology can help Commissions do a better job, please e-mail John Rhoads, Hamilton Commission member and keeper of this website (john_rhoads@acm.org).Water News
Read in-depth Salem Evening News pieces about Ipswich River Basin water woes on the web.Wetlands loss continues
Despite the what George Bush said about of "no net loss of wetlands" in the eighties, wetlands loss in the US still averaged 117,000 acres per year from 1985 to 1995 according to recent Interior Department information.
Activities
Cooperative educational project with Wenham Conservation Commission and Massachusetts Audubon Society.
The Discover Hamilton Trail
National Trails Day at Bradley Palmer State Park (winner of 1997 American Hiking Assoc. Trails for the Future Award)
Information for homeowners and professional designers
Hamilton homeowner's introduction to dealing with the Conservation Commission
Read the Bylaw
Download Bylaw (Adobe Acrobat file)
Read bylaw regulations
Download Bylaw regulations (Adobe Acrobat file)
Hamilton Conservation Commission policies
River Protection Act
Wetland Protection Act, Massachusetts General Laws Ch. 131, S. 40
Local Environmental Organizations
The Hamilton Conservation Commission maintains memberships in these very effective local organizations, and urges you to do likewise:
Ipswich River Watershed Association
Essex County Greenbelt Association
Essex County Trails Association
Natural history information
Hamilton natural resource bibliography
Hamilton environmental inventory and analysis from 1997 Open Space and Recreation Plan
List of plants occurring in wetlands in Massachusetts (list in order of scientific name)(list in order of common name)Commissioner's Workshop (documents and forms mainly of interest to conservation commissioners.)
Read or download the 1997 Hamilton Open Space and Recreation Plan
Links to related websites - DEP, state agencies, nonprofits, wetlands science sites
Conservation Commission office is in the second floor of Town Hall on Bay Road (Route 1A). Office telephone 978-468-5583. Current members of the Commission are Robert Cronin, Virginia Cookson, Peter Dana, John Hamilton (chair), Paula Kent, and Lisa Press. Our part-time Coordinator is Jim Hankin.
Regular meetings are held in Town Hall the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at 7:30 pm. The public is invited to come to and participate in all of these meetings.
Interested persons are encouraged to contact the office or any member about volunteer opportunities (research local natural resources, work on trail projects, serve on the Commission, or whatever interests you).
Webmaster: John Rhoads
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