How many times have we heard the comment, “Conservation, are you the guys I need to talk to about clearing a view down to the water?” The roles and responsibilities of the Chatham Conservation Commission and the Chatham Conservation Foundation are often confused, even occasionally by our CCF members. I have served on the Conservation Commission as well as the Board of the Conservation Foundation and want to offer a brief refresher on the differences between these two organizations.
The Commission is a governmental body appointed by the Select Board whose function is to enforce the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act and associated regulations along with a Town bylaw and its detailed regulations. It holds formal hearings monthly to make determinations of the appropriateness of applications to conduct activities within 100 feet of (no surprise) wet areas, of which there are many in Chatham such as ponds, marshes and even mosquito control ditches. It then issues orders of conditions which precisely describe what the applicant may do and any necessary restoration. In addition, if the Commission becomes aware of unauthorized activities it may conduct an enforcement action which could result in fines of $300 per day per violation as well as requiring remediation.
In contrast, CCF is a private non-profit land trust which owns or monitors almost 800 acres composed of 200 plus parcels. There is a legal requirement that almost all these properties be preserved in their natural state, without any structures. Unlike the Town we do not have a dedicated funding source and must rely on donations and grants to support our activities, including monitoring properties. Volunteers play a critical role supplementing our limited staff with fieldwork.
Unlike the Commission, CCF does not have enforcement powers and if we find that an abutter has encroached on our property, we are effectively limited to negotiating a resolution to the problem. For example, the abutters may not have felt that they were doing any harm by dumping yard waste on their neighbor’s (our) property since it was not manicured. After being alerted to the problem, they are generally willing to clean up. Other incidents arise from abutters not knowing property bounds. CCF has discovered everything from tree houses to fire pits installed on Foundation property, and we work with our abutters closely to educate them about property lines and remove the items. For those situations that are near a wetland, we collaborate with the Commission and rely on its enforcement power and judgement regarding appropriate remediation.
The requirement that our properties remain natural does not mean we cannot make them more accessible by removing invasive non-native plants and maintaining walking trails. Thus we are in the multi-year process of restoring five properties with native vegetation in visible locations. We manage four trails on CCF property, and map Town trails. The staff is also increasingly engaged in outreach and education activities such as guided trail walks, community events such as the upcoming Environmental Fair this summer, and webinars in the off-season.
I hope this clarifies the different missions of the Chatham Conservation Foundation and the Chatham Conservation Commission. Both CCF and the Commission are important forces in town conservation; we play complementary but very distinct roles. Thank you for your support of CCF’s work.