Fundamentals
for Conservation Commissioners
This eight-unit
course for Conservation Commissioners and staff provides the basics of:
Commissions' responsibilities and operations; open space planning, protection
and management; and wetlands and wetlands permitting. Upon completion
attendees receive a certificate and their communities are notified of
their accomplishment.
Course
Outline
Unit
1 Overview of Conservation Commissions; Relationships, Responsibilities,
Funds and Fees
•
Duties and authority
• Federal and state agencies
• Town Boards
• Conflict of Interest Law
• Open Meeting Law
Unit 2 Getting Home Before Midnight:
How to Run an Effective Meeting
•
Meeting preparation
• Participants and their interests
• Group dynamics Record Keeping, Public Records Law
• Working with the media
Unit
3 The Wetlands Protection Act:
Fundamentals, Process and Procedures
•
Interests of the Act
• Permit submittal requirements
• Forms
• Identifying resource areas
• "Limited" projects
Unit
4 Plan Review and Site Visit Procedures
(includes field session)
•
Understanding maps and plans
• Field Session:
~ What
to bring to a site visit
~ Soils, slopes and wetland lines
~ Erosion and sedimentation control
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Unit
5 Wetland Types: Their Functions and Values
•
Common vegetated wetlands in Massachusetts
• Scientific v. regulatory wetland definition
• Water quality and other key values
• Performance standards
• Buffer zones
Unit
6 Writing Effective Orders of Conditions
•
Protecting interests of the Act
• Boilerplate and special conditions
• Denials and appeals
• Amendments and extensions
• Certification of compliance
Unit
7 Open Space Planning and Protection Techniques
•
Establishing goals and objectives
• Inventory of local natural resources
• Selecting parcels
• Conservation restrictions
• Funding and grants
Unit
8 Managing Conservation Land:
Inventories, Goals and Conflicts
Resource evaluation
Management plans
Trails
Hunting, fishing and trapping
Forestry and agriculture
Recommended Materials:
"Environmental Handbook for Massachusetts Conservation Commissioners"
Alexandra
D. Dawson, J.D. and Sally A. Zielinski, Ph.D. MACC. Ninth Edition.
2006 Includes 115 -page section on the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection
Act. 640 pp.
• Order Here! |
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