News
The latest news from Mass Audubon.
Shaping the Future of Your Community
June 2007
A Citizen’s Guide to Involvement in Community Planning, Land Protection, and Project Review in Massachusetts
Mass Audubon's Losing Ground series documents the changes in Massachusetts land use. This series exposes the harsh reality of land loss in Massachusetts: More land has been developed in Massachusetts in the last 40 years than in the previous 340 years.
Shaping the Future is Mass Audubon’s response to Losing Ground. There are many ways that you as an individual can make a real difference and help shape a better future for your community and the Commonwealth.
Download a Copy of Shaping the Future of Your Community!
The emphasis of this guide is on participation with implementation and application of community laws, regulations, and policies because it is often at the local level that citizens can have the most significant influence on land use practices.
The guidebook Shaping the Future of Your Community gives you the tools for active involvement. It also guides you in determining what you can do to minimize the impacts of a development project that has already been proposed. Using this guide, you can craft and implement effective strategies to:
- Update and implement community plans
- Identify and protect the highest priority lands
- Provide incentives for well-planned growth
- And establish and apply regulations to minimize the impacts of development
For more than 110 years, Mass Audubon has been dedicated to protecting the nature of Massachusetts for wildlife and people. Working with you, we can maintain the Commonwealth's natural heritage for the benefit of future generations. You can make a difference in shaping the future of your community. This booklet will assist you in taking steps toward effective action.
Shaping the Future of Your Community is divided into the following six sections,
- Chapter 1 - How to Be an Effective Advocate
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Gain Credibility and Support to Achieve Your Goals
- Chapter 2 - Who's Who of Local, Regional, State, Federal Management, and Environmental Agencies
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Target Your Efforts and Get Results
- Chapter 3 - Local Land Use Planning and Conservation Strategies
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The Building Blocks of a Healthy and Sustainable Community
- Chapter 4 - Zoning, Regulatory Land Use Controls, and Incentives
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You Get What You Zone For. Update Your Land Use Rules With Innovative Tools
- Chapter 5 - Land Protection
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Funding Sources, Gifts, Tax Incentives, Land Trusts, and More
- Chapter 6 - Project Review and Permitting
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How to Engage in Permitting to Get the Best Results from Development Projects
Shaping the Future of Your Community also provides access to related information and resources:
- Federal, State, and Local Environmental and Land Use Laws and Regulations Summary Chart
- Useful contacts and links provided throughout each section, as well as at the end of each chapter
Choose the topic that you are most inclined to start working from. Together the entire Shaping the Future series provides a comprehensive tool kit that will enable you to work effectively with others in your community and with land conservation organizations.
Download individual sections of the document:
Cover Page
* (527 kb)
Acknowledgements
* (83 kb)
Introduction
* (172 kb)
Chapter 1- How to Be an Effective Advocate
* (240 kb)
Chapter 2- Who's Who of Local, Regional, State, Federal Management, and Environmental Agencies
* (198 kb)
Chapter 3- Local Land Use Planning and Conservation Strategies
* (272 kb)
Chapter 4- Zoning, Regulatory Land Use Controls, and Incentives
* (322 kb)
Chapter 5- Land Protection
* (492 kb)
Chapter 6- Project Review and Permitting
* (338 kb)
Federal, State, and Local Environmental and Land Use Laws and Regulations Summary Chart
* (131 kb)
Download the entire document*.
(2.7 mb)
For more information please send your email inquiries to advocacy@massaudubon.org or call 781-259-2171.
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Special Events
Upcoming special programs, festivals, and events around the state.
Cuttyhunk and Elizabeth Island CruisesEscape to the unique Elizabeth Islands off the coast of Cape Cod. Discover the windswept landscape of Cuttyhunk and step back into a simpler time. Hike the natural preserves of tiny Penikese Island, known as "the sleeping land out in the water", by the native Wampanoags.
Regional News
The latest news from our wildlife sanctuaries.;
Central & Western Massachusetts
Broad Meadow Brook, Worcester
Solar Pavilion and Nature Play Area Dedications
Two Great Additions to Broad Meadow Brook. 
Deb Cary Awarded Visions Award for Outstanding Public Service
Congratulations to Deb!
Current Outdoor Exhibition
View Carolyn Lewenberg's sculpture, "Portals", installed at Broad Meadow Brook.
Barbara J. Walker Butterfly Festival - August 11
Enjoy educational fun for all ages and see butterflies fly free in their natural habitats at Broad Meadow Brook!
Get Connected!
To stay connected to your favorite wildlife sanctuary, sign up for our enewsletter!
We WOO at Broad Meadow Brook! Do you?
Broad Meadow Brook is a proud participant in the WOO Card program – where culture, creativity, and community come together!
Canoe Meadows, Pittsfield
Canoe Meadows Community Garden
We hope you plan on joining us for the upcoming 2012 gardening season.
Pleasant Valley, Lenox
Family Fun Day at Pleasant Valley - June 2
Join us for this free family event!
New Picnic Area Opens at Pleasant Valley
A new universal access picnic area with four tables is now available to visitors.
Wachusett Meadow, Princeton
Rent a Canoe at Wachusett Meadow
Watch beavers and birds and experience the peaceful tranquility of canoeing on a sanctuary pond.
Teachers! Graduate Course offered by Mass Audubon & MITS, July 9-20
Registration is now available for Upper Elementary & Middle School Educators.
Young Shutterbugs Wanted!
Wachusett Meadow Launches Youth Camera Club.
We WOO at Wachusett! Do you?
Wachusett Meadow is a proud participant in the WOO Card program – where culture, creativity, and community come together!
Greater Boston
Boston Nature Center, Mattapan
BNC Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2011
Each year we gladly embrace the opportunity to reflect on and share our recent achievements with you – our supporters and donors – who make our work possible.
Broadmoor, Natick
On Exhibit: The Great White Bears - Opening Reception June 3
The exhibit of photographs by Deborah Alexander runs June 1 - July 6 at Broadmoor.
On Exhibit: 4th Annual Broadmoor Student Photo Show
We are thrilled to showcase the hard work of our photography students from the past year.
4th Annual Broadmoor Student Photo Show - Opening May 6
We are thrilled to showcase the hard work of our photography students from the past year.
Broadmoor Adds New Solar Panels to Meet All Electricity Needs
42 new solar panels make Broadmoor the first Mass Audubon sanctuary to generate all of its own electricity needs.
Clive W. and Mona M. Lacy Native Cultivars Garden
The Native Cultivars Garden demonstrates how a carefully chosen selection of nursery cultivated native plants can provide a beautiful, environmentally sound garden.
All Person's Trail Audio Tour Available April 1 - November 30
Quarter mile loop trail offers a microcosm of the sanctuary's field, forest, and wetland habitats to everyone.
At Broadmoor, Green is Good!
Converted from an antique horse barn built in 1911, the Saltonstall Nature Center, renovated in 1983, uses a variety of environment friendly materials and employs renewable resources as natural energy.
Drumlin Farm, Lincoln
How Does Your Garden Grow? With Drumlin Farm Seedlings!
Seedling sale runs May 19-20 & 26-27.
Teachers! Graduate Course offered by Mass Audubon & MITS, July 9-20
Registration is now available for Upper Elementary & Middle School Educators.
Drumlin Farm’s Video Library!
View our wildlife videos online.
Drumlin Farm's Strategic Plan
Over the past year Drumlin Farm has completed a strategic plan that will help us remain true to our mission as we steer a steady course into the future.
Habitat, Belmont
On Exhibit: Pathways Through Light And Shadow - Opening Reception June 13
Watercolors by Susan L. Johnson at the Habitat Gallery.
On Exhibit: Raptors: Birds of Prey
Oak Knoll, Attleboro
Teachers! Graduate Course offered by Mass Audubon & MITS, July 9-20
Registration is now available for Upper Elementary & Middle School Educators.
Adopt a Turtle at Oak Knoll
Do you love turtles? Do your children enjoy the hands on experience that they can have with them at Oak Knoll? If so please think about joining our Adopt a Turtle Program.
Visual Arts Center, Canton
Private Passions: The Art of Collecting
This exhibition explores some remarkable collections of art inspired by nature.
Authors, Puppets & Videos at Wild at Art Summer Camp
Art and creativity come in many forms this year!
Gift Provides For Acquisition of Catesby Print
This is the first purchase to be made through our newly established Art Acquisition and Restoration Fund!
Visual Arts Center 2011 Year in Review
Learn more by reading our Year in Review.
A. Elmer Crowell - A Sampling
An ongoing exhibit featuring a small, but select sampling of the artist's work.
South Shore, Cape and Islands
Allens Pond, Dartmouth
Stone Barn Grand Opening Celebration! - May 26
Join us at Allens Pond for an amazing afternoon of discovery and activities as we open our newest property.
Felix Neck, Martha's Vineyard
Get Connected!
To stay connected to your favorite wildlife sanctuary, sign up for our enewsletter!
Long Pasture, Barnstable
Cuttyhunk and Elizabeth Island Cruises
Escape to the unique Elizabeth Islands off the coast of Cape Cod. Discover the windswept landscape of Cuttyhunk and step back into a simpler time. Hike the natural preserves of tiny Penikese Island, known as "the sleeping land out in the water", by the native Wampanoags.
Wild Arts and Ecology Program for Children at Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary on Cape Cod
Got curiosity? Then Wild Arts and Ecology is right for you!
North River - South Shore, Marshfield
Free Discovery Day at North River Wildlife Sanctuary - June 3
Open House and Native Plant Sale.
On Exhibit: Wings Drawings by Lisa Sullivan
Drawings will be on exhibit and available for purchase through May 24th.
Wellfleet Bay, Wellfleet
Wild, Wild Wellfleet
Join us on July 19 for our annual benefit for Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.
June Program Series: Birds on the Brink
Those Facing Threats from Disappearing Grasslands, a Rising Sea and a PR Problem.
Directors Message May 2012
Sanctuary director Bob Prescott says a decline in birds depending on fields and shrublands requires a rapid response—and elbow grease.
Get to Know Your Trees at Wellfleet Bay - Sunday, May 27
Learn how to distinguish different trees species by bark.
Spring Birding at Wellfleet Bay with James Coe - May 26
How often do you get the chance to go birding with someone who’s illustrated a field guide to birds?
Sustainable Food Series, Spring Edition
We continue our series focusing on local businesses dedicated to food raised or harvested by sustainable practices, without degrading or depleting natural resources.
Season's Best
What to see, hear, and do this season.
