Problems | Shutesbury Rights

Wetlands are Essential

Wetlands provide critical and free public services to humans.
Carbon sinks account for 20-30% of the global soil carbon while covering only 5%-8% of the land area.
Wetlands are critical for climate change adaptation, resilience, and localized cooling. (Moomaw et al. 2018).
Wetlands filter contaminants and pollutants from stormwater, septic systems, and road runoff.
Wetlands replenish groundwater and provide clean drinking water.
Wetlands support biodiversity and serve as essential habitats for wildlife, including endangered and rare species.
Wetland ecosystems are a bulwark from the ravages of wildfires.

The Threat to Wetlands

Despite efforts, wetlands are threatened locally, regionally, nationally, and globally.

70% of the world's wetlands have disappeared in the past 100 years.

Nationally, net wetland loss increased substantially (>50%) since the last Wetlands Status and Trends study period (2004–2009), resulting in the loss of 221K ac [89K ha] of wetlands, primarily to uplands, between 2009 and 2019. (Source: USFWS Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Coterminous US 2009-2019)

According to MassDEP, Massachusetts has lost about 28% of its original wetlands since the 1780s. Massachusetts continues to lose wetlands at an alarming rate. Due to development pressures and climate change, freshwater and coastal wetlands are under constant threat.

Shutesbury has its own unique environmental challenges and threats. Deforestation and climate change stresses (drought, invasive species) endanger our forests and increase the risks of catastrophic wildfires. Groundwater supply has begun to fluctuate during extreme drought, jeopardizing residential wells. Severe weather in recent years has led to sometimes disasterous flooding and erosion issues. Incremental residential development, increased recreational use of Lake Wyola, logging, and industrial energy projects imperil wetlands throughout town. In addition, the Town of Shutesbury faces multiple and significant contamination issues (PFAS, gasoline, salt) that have contaminated wetlands, groundwater, and private wells. Wetlands in Shutesbury are not secure, nor is our drinking water supply.

Our System is Broken

According to a United Nations Environmental Report, despite a 38-fold increase in environmental laws since 1972, implementation and enforcement failures are barriers to mitigating climate change, reducing pollution, and preventing widespread species and habitat loss.

Although "no net loss of wetlands" is a theoretical conservation goal, state and local regulatory agencies are hamstrung by limited resources and a legal system that treats wetlands as a commodity to be exploited--rather than as living biosystems with the rights to survive and thrive.

In 2023, the US Supreme Court ruled that freshwater wetlands are not protected under the federal Clean Water Act. Permitting agencies such as the EPA, the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), and local Conservation Commissions lack the ability to enforce wetlands protections and require meaningful restoration and mitigation when wetlands are damaged.

The current system does not protect wetlands and the humans who depend on them. Our laws are designed to protect landowners and "property rights," not human rights, not Nature's rights. Even when regulatory agencies identify serious and cumulative threats, they are often limited to what landowners will consent to.

MassDEP has essentially privatized the groundwater contamination clean-up system, allowing landowners and their private consultants to monitor waste cleanup. In practice, enforcement of the state Wetlands Protection Act (MassDEP and Conservation Commissions) and local Wetlands Protection Bylaws (Conservation Commissions) does not exist.

As a result, existing environmental laws often amount to not much more than the legalization and greenwashing of environmental destruction and pollution.

With no mechanism for meaningful enforcement, environmental protections are meaningless. Legal challenges, appeals, and demands for enforcement are also few and far between.

The needs of communities and Nature itself are left out of the environmental protection equation. Until something changes in how our society treats Nature, our survival is at risk.

Time is of the essence, and we are collectively at a crossroads. As we approach the 6th Mass Extinction, brought on by development and climate destabilization, we must act and shift our mental, cultural, and legal frameworks about our relationship to Nature and the Earth. Rights of Nature statutes provide a legal basis for addressing these issues when existing regulatory frameworks are not enough.