Massachusetts
Massachusetts beach towns look to ease ‘overly strict’ conservation rules: ‘Common sense’
As certain shorebirds rebound in population along the Massachusetts coast, beach towns are pushing for the state to strike a healthier balance between conservation and recreation.
State Rep. Kenneth Sweezey, a South Shore Republican, is leading the charge on Beacon Hill, authoring legislation to untangle what he describes as “overly strict” regulations hindering his region’s access to its beaches.
Over the years, Duxbury Beach, in particular, has borne the brunt of protecting recovering bird species, including piping plovers and terns, limiting business and recreational opportunities at the prominent South Shore coastline.
The Duxbury Beach Reservation, a private landlord, has had to close certain roads and portions of the shoreline while birds are nesting. Residents and visitors are also required to have an oversand vehicle permit, which costs more than $150, for beach access.
Under one of Sweezey’s proposals, the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife would only restrict over-sand vehicle access or other recreational activities if the bird species is listed as endangered or threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Sweezey has said that piping plovers are the only species nesting on Duxbury Beach, which his district includes, that are federally endangered, while other birds carry a state designation.
“Birds may be federally protected because they’re doing poorly in one region of the nation, even though they may be thriving in the Commonwealth,” Sweezey said at the State House last week. “Those differences sort of create problems when you’re looking at human access, recreational opportunities on the beaches and conservation on the beach.”
Sweezey made his appeal to the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, touting shorebird management expert Chris Kennedy for helping him craft his proposals.
Kennedy, a wildlife biologist who has worked for the state Environmental Police and Division of Fisheries and Wildlife over the decades, is championing an equal balance between conservation and recreation.
In response to a post in the ‘Save Duxbury Beach’ Facebook page, Kennedy highlighted how the Bay State has seen a nearly “tenfold” jump in nesting plovers since 1986, going from 140 to over 1,200 last year. Roseate and common terns are also “strongly increasing,” while least terns are “slowly climbing.”
“Reasonable public access is not anti-birds,” Kennedy stated. “It is simply common sense.”
The 1,221 nesting pairs of plovers identified in 2025 marked a record high for the species’ population, up even from the 1,196 in 2024, numbers show.
According to the state’s Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, Duxbury Beach had 149 days of recreational activity last year.
Sweezey is also calling state regulators to conduct a review of their recreational management guidelines that protect piping plovers, terns and their habitats across the state at least once every two years. Part of that process would include two public hearings.
Patrick Parquette, a government affairs officer for the Massachusetts Striped Bass Association, called the state’s current shorebird management program “long outdated,” having been adopted in 1993.
Parquette pointed out how, decades ago, nests of certain shorebirds needed to be a minimum of an eighth of a mile apart. Today, species, including the piping plover, are nesting within 100 feet of each other.
“At the time, it was based on the best thinking that we had,” he said. “I don’t think there’s a reasonable human being in this building, no matter the ilk or philosophy they come from, that would say that our knowledge base 33 years ago could compare with today’s knowledge base.”
Andrew Marshall, founder of the Save Duxbury Beach nonprofit advocacy group, centers his concerns around climate change and its effects on the Plymouth County town of roughly 16,000.
“We’re being unfairly punished due to climate change, with some of these southern birds moving up to the north here,” Marshall told lawmakers. “These birds aren’t rare or threatened. They’re just new in our area.”
A third piece of legislation that Sweezey has crafted would ban state regulators from prohibiting any beach management program from using all legally authorized shorebird nesting mitigation tools under the state’s habitat conservation plan.
Sweezey said a goal of the bill would be to promote parity among Massachusetts beaches.
“These bills,” the representative said, “are critically important to our environment, our coastal traditions and local economies down in Duxbury, but really along the entire coast.”
Massachusetts
State police investigate fatal crash on I-93 in Quincy
A person has died after a single-vehicle crash on I-93 in Quincy on Sunday morning.
Troopers responded to the single-vehicle crash around 6:05 a.m. and found two people injured. One person has died, and another was seriously hurt.
The right lane remains closed at this time to allow for an investigation, according to Massachusetts State Police.
The victim’s name is not being released at this time.
Massachusetts
Here’s what’s on tap during Mass Beer Week
Calling all beer lovers…More than 200 small, independent breweries from all over the state are participating in Mass Beer Week, a celebration that highlights the craft beer community by bringing businesses together.
Gov. Maura Healey has officially proclaimed March 7-14 as Mass Beer Week in the Commonwealth, formally recognizing the vital role that local breweries play in the state’s economy, culture, tourism and communities.
“From Boston to the Berkshires, our craft breweries are anchors in their communities and significant contributors to our regional economies,” Healey said in a statement. “I’m proud to proclaim Mass Beer Week and encourage everyone to go celebrate at their local brewery safely and responsibly!”
The statewide celebration of Massachusetts-made beer officially kicked off Saturday and continues through the next week, during which time participating breweries will host special releases, collaborative brews, tasting events, educational programming, and community fundraisers.
The Massachusetts Brewers Guild says the formal recognition of this week by the Commonwealth is an incredible honor for the brewing community.
“Massachusetts breweries are small manufacturers, employers, and community gathering spaces,” said Katie Stinchon, the executive director of the Massachusetts Brewers Guild. “This proclamation underscores the importance of supporting local businesses and the people behind them.”
The owner of Drawdown Brewing says unification is exactly how she would describe Mass Beer Week.
“Beer is intrinsically very community based and brings people together and the Massachusetts/New England community we’re definitely kind of ride or die so it’s just a great unifier,” said Liz Nicol. “We’re all making beer. We’re all moving in the same direction, but everyone has something that makes us really unique so for us we do more malt forward beverages.”
Sarah Harkness says she also loves the comraderie.
“I just love that it grows the craft beer community as opposed to pitting breweries against each other,” she said.
While others say they just love beer, period.
“It’s such a New England thing to go to a brewery after going hiking and stuff so Boston really loves their beer,” said Dylan Pollman-Blom.
Events are scheduled all over the state for the next week. Beer lovers are encouraged to visit local taprooms, try Massachusetts-made beer, and share their experiences on social media. Click here for a full list of participating breweries and event details.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners approves design of new Otis Library building – The Berkshire Edge
Otis — Earlier this year, the Otis Library announced that the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) approved the feasibility design for the new Otis Library building. Now, the town must vote to fund a portion of the building’s construction at its upcoming Annual Town Meeting in May in order for the project to move forward. Should the town vote in favor of this action, construction of the new library at the town-owned West Center Road site will begin in mid-2027.
The Otis Library was awarded a state grant by the MBLC that covers 75 percent of qualifying construction costs for the new building. If the library cannot fund the additional 25 percent, the grant is revoked and the project comes to a halt.
The Berkshire Edge spoke with Otis Library Director Stephanie Skinner, who has been spearheading project efforts since she was appointed director.
“It’s been a whirlwind. [The MBLC grant] is an amazing grant. It covers 75 percent of eligible costs which, if you know anything about grants, particularly capital grants, that is well above what you would expect. So, it’s pretty remarkable,” stated Skinner. “We are a tiny town, though, so there is also the need to raise additional money to offset the 25 percent the town has to throw in. So we do lots of fundraising and are looking for additional grants to go side-by-side with it.”
Why a new library?
The decision to construct a new library was based on the desire to better serve the Otis community and size constraints that currently place limitations on resource selection and community programming. There are also structural concerns at play.
“[The library is] not ADA compliant and we are an aging population in general,” Skinner explained. “We also have lots of little rooms instead of a single space, which makes it hard for staffing because you want to have line of sight to whoever is in the library. If somebody’s upstairs, we have no idea if they’re up there. You want to make sure you have a line of sight, especially if there are kids in the library. Also, the building itself was built in the 1940s and could use a refresh—but we can’t tear up the walls. Apparently, there’s asbestos in some of the areas.”
With a new building, Skinner is also hoping to meet the needs of a fluctuating population by providing a larger community space. “As a town, we go from 1,700 full-time residents to 10,000 to 14,000 in the summer, so we’ve been adding programming, meaning: lots of talks, meditations on Thursday morning, and we do cookbook club and bookclub—we do tons of different things.” The community room in the current library can only accommodate up to 25 people.
The new design
Of the new design, there was little Otis Library compromised on. In fact, the wish for a larger community room was “granted,” with a planned 750-square-foot community room. A lot of the design, however, was dictated by the requirements of MBLC.
“Pretty much everything inside is specified by the MBLC,” explained Skinner. “We have to have a children’s area, we really have to have a teen area, our adult stacks, we have to have X-amount of seating—these are all prescribed by people who have been librarians all their lives, so they really do know what is needed in the library. … Things like how many bathrooms and stuff like that, there is no question about those things. It’s how it all fits together and how to make it affordable that really is the driving force right now.”
The location of the new library, which was selected by the Otis Select Board, also opens up what the library will be able to do. “So the plan is to have walking paths all around [the property], and we’ll be able to do our story walks. Right now we have to use somebody else’s land for that,” said Skinner. “In general, we’ll be able to do a lot more with the outdoors.”
What happens if Otis votes “No”
The plans are approved, the site has been chosen, and it is up to the town to vote. Otis’s Annual Town Meeting is currently scheduled for Tuesday, May 19, from 7 to 10 p.m., per the town website.
“It’s going to cost something,” said Skinner. “At this point in time, there are other increased expenses that the town also has to vote on, so there’s a lot of uncertainty. We are applying for grants left, right, and center and raising money. We’re doing our best to offset it. ”
Should the town of Otis vote against appropriating the remaining costs to fund the new library, the MBLC grant effectively “goes away.” The Otis Library will still be operational, but the town will not get the new library, as proposed. “But that also means that at some point, [the town] will need to begin investing in the current building,” added Skinner.
As residents prepare for Town Meeting, Skinner asks them to consider the library’s role in the future of Otis. “We are the heart of the town. We are a place that welcomes everybody, and you do not have to pay anything for anything. You walk in this door and you can read anything or work on a computer all for free. There is no place else in town where you can do that. The second thing,” Skinner continued, “is that [a library] is a value increase for the town.”
For more information on the Otis Library project, or to view past meetings and presentations, please visit the library’s website.
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