Chatham Harbor
CHATHAM – Chatham town officials plan to fight the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge’s new conservation plan all the way to Washington, D.C.
Sean Summers, Chairman of the Chatham Board of Selectmen, said he and other town officials plan to meet with senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey during a trip to DC in mid-April.
The draft plan was released last spring and Chatham town officials and residents came out strongly against a number of elements in the plan. Perhaps the most contentious aspect of the plan is a redrawing of the boundary of the refuge, which town officials are calling an annexation of 717 acres of municipal land.
In addition, the plan contains a number of new restrictions on uses of the property, including shellfishing.
Monomoy Refuge officials say their mission is to protect the wildlife and environment of the refuge and decisions about its management are theirs to make.
Summers said use of Monomoy among locals is part of the culture of Chatham. The town has been a good steward of the property, he said, and plans to continue to protect the land in the future.
But the new plan is a severe overstep on the part of the federal government.
To hear more Chatham town officials Sean Summers and Robert Duncanson, Chatham Director of the Department of Health and the Environment, discuss the new conservation plan for the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, click below.
