Developer Proposes Land Donation for Turtle Habitat

The Marshfield Conservation Commission on Wednesday night reviewed a proposal from the developers of Bridal Crossing to donate nine acres of land to the town as protected habitat for the Eastern box turtle.

John Zimmer, an environmental consultant with Self River Environmental, presented details of the plan on behalf of Bridal Crossing LLC. The proposal is part of a required Natural Heritage Conservation and Management Permit to allow development on the property while preserving turtle habitat.

"The entire site is mapped as Eastern box turtle habitat, so in order to develop a portion of the property, we need to obtain what's called a conservation and management permit from Natural Heritage," Zimmer explained. "What that does is that allows for the development of a portion of the property. Typically it's 30 to 50% with associated impact mitigation to ensure that at the end of the day there's a net benefit to the species."

During the meeting, Zimmer also submitted a Request for Determination of Applicability (RDA) regarding a wetland area previously identified on the property. "The RDA is basically to confirm that there are no jurisdictional violent resource areas out there," Zimmer said, noting that the commission would review this request at their May 21 meeting.

Zimmer said the developers plan to improve the remaining habitat by removing debris and enhancing the landscape to create a mix of meadow, mid-successional, and forested areas. "At the end of the day you're going to have a mix of habitat that's going to be protected and managed in perpetuity to allow for that habitat for the turtles to be maintained," Zimmer said.

As part of the proposal, Zimmer said the developers would deed the protected land to the Conservation Commission. "We would need to get documentation of a formal vote from the commission, which we would hope could occur on the 21st and provide that to Natural Heritage," Zimmer told the commission.

Developer Kevin Sealant, manager of Bridal Crossing LLC, added that the proposed deed would include a declaration of restriction outlining prohibited uses, such as no structures, no pesticides, and no domestic animals. "You can put walking trails, you can use it for passive recreation, hiking, those kind of things," Sealant said.

Commission members discussed potential responsibilities tied to accepting the land, including long-term maintenance. Zimmer assured the commission that the developers would establish an escrow account to cover habitat management and monitoring costs.

"There'd be no requirements for the Conservation Commission to put out any money or do any of the management," Zimmer said. "There's an escrow account being set up by the Homeowners association to fund those habitat management improvements and monitoring."

Chair Craig Hannafin emphasized the importance of reviewing the legal documents before making a decision. "Yeah, we need to get that to him immediately," Hannafin said, referring to the town counsel.

The Commission plans to review the proposal further, conduct a site visit, and consult town counsel before taking a formal vote.