different types of wetland resource areas and the WHERE WE MEET: Pelham Town Office, PCC can help determine which may be present on Rhodes Building, 351 Amherst Road, Pelham, MA your property. They may include marshes, ponds, rivers, bogs, wet meadows, intermittent or COMMISSION MEMBERS: subsurface streams that dry up during part of the Dana MacDonald, Chair year, flood plains, vernal pools, and buffers to these Mary Booth areas. Some wetlands are not covered by the WPA Steve Funderburk but are covered by the Town Wetland Bylaw. PELHAM CONSERVATION COMMISSION Cynthia Weigel WETLANDS AND YOU: The PCC is responsible for administering the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act (WPA) (re: www.mass.gov/dep/water/laws/ch131s40.pdf) and the Town Bylaws protecting wetlands (re: /www.townofpelham.org/legal_wetlands_protection.html). The intent of the WPA is to protect public interests provided by wetlands:

 Public & Private Water Supply  Flood Control  Groundwater Recharge  Storm Damage Protection Any alteration of a wetland or its protective 100’  Pollution Prevention buffer zone is restricted. Activities prohibited in  Wildlife Habitat Protection wetland resource areas or buffers require a permit  Shellfish Habitat Protection from the PCC include, for example: The Pelham Conservation Commission (PCC),  Fish Habitat Protection formed in 1970 under Massachusett’s Conservation  Land excavation and terracing Commission Act of 1957, serves as the principal The Town Wetland Bylaw protects the interests  Digging for a Septic Percolation Test conservation authority for the Town. It is important above in addition to sediment and erosion control,  Dumping dirt, other fill or yard waste into for you to know when to contact the PCC. Please surface water protection, storm drainage, agriculture, a wetland contact us to help with stewardship or other aquaculture, and recreation. conservation activities. You also must contact us for  Draining or pumping water from a a permit for any activity that will, or may, impact wetland, pond, or stream wetlands.  Building dams or removing beaver dams  Modifying your current septic system OUR DUTIES:  Building a structure or animal paddock  Open Space Protection  Wetlands Protection  Managing Public Lands  Wildlife Habitat Protection  Review of Forest Cutting Plans  Environmental Education

nd WHEN WE MEET: 2 and last Thursday of Before doing ANY work or activity in a wetland the month at 7:00 p.m., unless otherwise noted area, within 100 ft of a wetland buffer zone, or by public posting at the Pelham Town Office or within 200 ft of a river or perennial stream, you Town website: http://www.townofpelham.org/. MUST contact the PCC. There are a number of Major goals of the Plan include stewardship of existing conservation areas, protection of water and natural resources in Town, greater environmental awareness in the community, and increased regional environmental cooperation. Better awareness will lead to more community involvement in protecting those resources. Although the Town has changed very little over the past five years, this plan will enable the Town to better meet the challenges of the years to come. The plan is revised periodically.

CONSERVATION AREAS: The PCC manages Town conservation land. WETLAND PERMITS: Prominent areas include: The Massachusetts Forest Cutting Practices Act Avoid site work until you know whether any (FCPA) ensures the long-term public benefits wetlands occur at or near the site. The PCC will help  Harkness Conservation Area provided by forests, while also enabling responsible determine if regulated wetlands occur on or near  Buffam Falls Conservation Area timber harvesting through a permitting process. For your work site and advise you on the specific steps  Butter Hill Wildlife Sanctuary both public and private forestland, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) necessary for you to fulfill any appropriate WPA  Moose Conservation Area and/or Town Wetland Bylaw permits (re: administers FCPA and regulates any commercial http://www.mass.gov/dep/water/approvals/wwforms.htm#n The PCC has established a Stewardship Project timber cutting of wood products greater than 25,000 oi) through a Friends group that is working to mark, board feet or 50 cords on any parcel of land at any maintain, and map select trails. Contact the PCC if one time; some exemptions apply. Harvesting must OPEN SPACE & RECREATION: you would like to join in this effort. be in accord with a DCR approved Forest Cutting Plan. The PCC does not approve these plans but The 2008 Open Space ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION: helps to monitor the effectiveness of the program (re: and Recreation Plan http://www.mass.gov/dcr/stewardship/forestry). (Plan) for the Town of Pelham, available at the IF YOU WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP: Pelham Library and  Revise the Open Space Plan Town Office at the  Inventory Habitat Rhodes Building,  Mark, Map, or Maintain Trails reflects both the wish to  Certify Vernal Pools preserve the best parts  Lead Educational Walks or Workshops of Pelham’s rural legacy and to increase CONTACT THE PELHAM CONSERVATION community awareness COMMISSION: Attend a meeting or call Dana of the Town’s natural MacDonald at 413-253-9362. We look forward to resources. The purpose meeting you. of the Plan is to fulfill ------an obligation implied in The PCC hosts environmental education for the the PCC’s enabling Pelham community. Typically, workshops are legislation and ensures conducted to educate Town residents and others the eligibility of the about vernal pools, invasive plants and animals, Town for state and federal assistance for projects threatenened and endangered species habitat, and consistent with the plan. Additionally, it informs general wetland ecology. Workshops are announced Townspeople to the changes as well as the continuity in the Pelham Slate. of various characteristics of the Town’s resources and capacity. FOREST CUTTING PLANS: The Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions has lots of useful information on and for Conservation Commissions. It provides guidance on WPA wetland permits. For further information please visit the MACC website: http://www.maccweb.org/