Summary
Back in the 1980s, when Maine saw the first wave of a residential housing development boom, cities and towns created conservation commissions to serve as adjunct advisory bodies to planning and zoning boards. Twenty years ago, there were some 200 such commissions, but that number has dwindled to about 60, with some of those inactive.
Conservation commissions still have a part to play, and can do so in many cities and towns. And they can do so without the expenditure of tax money, and without adding anti-development hurdles. In some towns, such as Camden and Rockport, conservation commissions have served as the community's "environmental conscience," as Jane Lafleur, executive director of the anti-sprawl group Friends of MidCoast Maine put it at a recent meeting.See the full content of this document
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Conservation Conscience
Former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall said that conservation commissions shoul...
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