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Select Board affirms transfer of 30-acre parcel to Conservation Commission to protect butterfly habitat
Summary
The Foxborough Select Board voted Dec. 16 to affirm transfer of a roughly 30-acre parcel (Map 48, Parcel 87) to the Conservation Commission with an Article 97 dedication and a requirement to manage 13.4 acres as butterfly habitat; the water department will manage the habitat and clearing will be done under a state conservation permit.
Chris Gallaghum, the town’s director of public works, told the Foxborough Select Board on Dec. 16 that the town is preparing to transfer a roughly 30-acre parcel off Oak Street and Lamson Road (Map 48, Parcel 87) to the Conservation Commission and dedicate it in perpetuity for conservation and passive recreation.
Gallaghum said the parcel was the subject of a 2021 town meeting vote to transfer it to the commission and that the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and the Conservation Commission are requiring the creation and maintenance of 13.4 acres of managed habitat to support a frosted elephant species butterfly. “The intent is to create almost like a savannah type land feature,” Gallaghum said, describing plans to clear wooded sections and manage the site so the indigo plant that supports the butterfly can spread across the habitat area.
Gallaghum told the board that the water department will manage the required 13.4 acres using the enterprise account and that no general-fund appropriation is needed for the habitat work. He said some earlier permit work tied to the Oak Street water treatment project remained unfinished and that the newest conservation management permit and the construction of an additional PAS treatment plant triggered the expanded habitat obligation.
The deed language read at the meeting dedicates the land “for the sole purpose of conservation of natural resources and passive recreation pursuant to Chapter 184 of the General Laws of the Commonwealth,” and references G.L. c.131A et seq. and Article 97 of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution. Gallaghum said any proposed uses, including trails or vegetation changes, must be approved by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife under its statutory authority.
Board members asked about neighborhood impacts and outreach surrounding tree-clearing plans; Gallaghum said staff will notify owners within roughly a 300-foot buffer and that the town intends to coordinate the clearing with the PAS plant construction so the same contractor can perform both jobs. He said the town expects to solicit bids and have the work under contract by the end of June, with clearing taking place in the following fiscal-year summer window.
The Conservation Commission voted Dec. 15 to accept the transfer. The Select Board then moved to affirm that acceptance and recorded an affirmative vote at the Dec. 16 meeting with no recorded opposition.
The dedication establishes long-term conservation restrictions; the town’s stated next steps are outreach to abutters and coordination of the habitat work with the PAS plant procurement schedule.
