Capstone Project - Resource Management and Conservation Program - Environmental Studies - Antioch University New England

Sample Capstone Project

The Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act: Its Implementation and Enforcement in the Development of Open Space in Freshwater Areas

This student’s effort was to evaluate the administration and enforcement of the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act (WPA) in inland (freshwater) wetlands. This was a qualitative research effort that utilized a survey vehicle, combined with selected subsequent interviews, to request from 23 municipal conservation commissions in Massachusetts that reflected a categorization by socio-economic criteria. Information was gathered regarding training, experience with various aspects of the WPA, decision-making processes employed at the local level, the working relationship with the State Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the conservation commissions experience with appeals and enforcement issues.

The recommendation to DEP indicated the common factor affecting the ability of the local Conservation Commissions to efficiently apply the WPA to local development issues was the availability of resources to assist Commissioners in their work. These resources include commissioner training, availability of paid staff, the occurrence of professional consultants living in the community, legal resources, amount and type of funding and existence of a local wetlands by-law.

Back to Practice-Centered Coursework