Nantucket Conservation Commission fines property owner and orders restoration plan after large wetland clearing at 14 Plover Lane

The Nantucket Conservation Commission on March 6 found that extensive mastication and understory removal within a wetland and its buffer at 14 Plover Lane constituted an egregious violation and voted to require restoration and begin civil fines.

Commission Chair Seth Engelberg opened the enforcement discussion by summarizing the case: “We have an enforcement action for 14 Clover Lane.” The commission ratified an enforcement order it had previously issued and directed the property owner to submit a detailed restoration plan and an after‑the‑fact notice of intent (NOI). The commission also voted to assess civil fines under the local wetlands bylaw beginning Feb. 6 and continuing until a restoration plan is submitted to the commission.

Why it matters: Commissioners and abutters described nearly complete removal of the wetland understory, standing water and hydric soils on the site, and the loss of mature vegetation in a wind‑exposed, coastal setting. Commissioners said the scope of damage could take years to recover and that civil fines and expedited restoration were needed both to compel…