What Matters to You?
Before thinking of solutions, consider what matters to you most, what values you hold dear, and what you would like Shutesbury to look like in 10 years, 20 years, 50 years:
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Clean and ample water
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Clean air
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Preservation of Shutesbury’s rural habitat and open spaces
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Wildfires resilience and prevention
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Localized, microclimate cooling
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Climate change resilience
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Carbon sequestration and storage
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Droughts and flooding
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Biodiversity
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Invasive species control
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Prevention of flooding and erosion
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Pollution control, including noise and light pollution​
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Democracy
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Freedom from corporate exploitation
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Human Rights, including the rights of residents and rights of Indigenous communities to advocate for what they hold dear
If these issues matter to you, then consider becoming a champion of the Rights of Wetlands!​
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The Rights of Nature movement is a paradigm shift from treating the environment as a "resource" to treating Nature as a partner.
A Global Movement
A growing number of other municipalities are adopting these statutes to protect the Rights of Nature because they recognize that existing environmental laws are not working. Where Rights of Nature statutes have been adopted nationally, communities have been able to better protect the things they care about- like clean water, clean air, and a thriving ecosystem.
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Democracy and Self-Determination
Rights of Nature legislative efforts are about democracy and self-determination. The authority for adopting a Rights of Nature statute (Bylaw) is based on the people’s fundamental and inalienable right to a form of governance where they live, which recognizes that all power is inherent in the people, that all free governments are founded on the people’s authority and consent, and that corporate entities and their directors and managers shall not enjoy special privileges or powers under the law which make community majorities subordinate to them.
Rather than waiting for a top-down solution at the global and national level, Rights of Nature ballot initiatives are about direct democracy and local empowerment.
Every community that steps forward helps to budge the needle closer to the state, national, and global recognition of the Rights of Nature. See the References page on this website to locate a list of communities, Indigenous Tribes, and countries that have adopted Rights of Nature legislation.
Time for Change
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Granting wetlands the legal rights that humans enjoy may seem strange and novel, but it is just using a very ancient principle to solve a modern problem.
Worldwide, nations and communities are beginning to incorporate the Rights of Nature into their legal codes.
We must give our natural environment the same rights we give to corporations and governments that destroy it.
Sometimes, real and meaningful change must begin at the local level. If Shutesbury adopts a Rights of Wetlands Bylaw, perhaps other towns will follow our example. If 100 towns adopt one, perhaps our state and national legislators will take heed.
We must act now to create the future we need.
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