State Priority Habitat Review Raises Bar for Landowners on the Vineyard

“Priority Habitat Review Raises Bar for Landowners”
The Martha’s Vineyard Times, June 5, 2008
By Nelson Sigelman

MARTHA’S VINEYARD -- The Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP) exists within the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. It is a small agency with a powerful regulatory reach.

Natural Heritage is responsible for the regulatory protection of rare species and their habitats and derives its authority from the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act (MESA) enacted in December 1990. Revisions to the law approved in 2005 strengthened the agency's review authority ...

For the most part, conservation agencies and environmental service businesses that regularly deal with state agencies are aware of the changes in the regulatory landscape. Many private property owners are not. ... ©

Read the full article in The Martha’s Vineyard Times.