Annual Report

The Dighton Conservation Commission consists of five members appointed by the Board of Selectmen, serving staggered three-year terms.

Our Agent, Lisa Caledonia shares an office with the Planning Board in the lower level of Town Hall and is available by phone or through our website. She is a seasoned Wetlands Consultant and adds a level of professionalism to the everyday workings of this Commission. We meet at 7 pm on the third Thursday of every month in the meeting room of the Old Town Hall building. Our agendas are posted on the public bulletin board located in the vestibule of the Town Hall building and on the Towns website.

The Conservation Commission is responsible for protecting wetland resource areas in the Town. In general, anyone who for any reason proposes to work anywhere within the 100-foot Buffer Zone of any wetland resource area, or within 200 feet of any river, brook, or stream must apply for a permit to the Conservation Commission prior to such activity. This process involves filing either a Notice of Intent or a Request for a Determination of Applicability. For either, filing an advertised public hearing is held and the work is considered before a permit decision is rendered by the Commission. In all cases, Massachusetts Wetland Act Regulations and the Dighton Wetlands Protection Bylaw are the guiding and determining factors in reaching that decision. The wetlands resource areas and flood plains associated with the Taunton River, Segreganset River, Three Mile River, Coles River, Labor in Vain Brook, Muddy Cove Brook, and Sunken Brook and their tributaries keep the Commission and its Agent busy throughout the year. The Segreganset River and Sunken Brook also serve as water supplies to the Town of Somerset and are pumped into the Somerset Reservoir from a location off Brook Street. Labor in Vain Brook flows directly into Somersets Reservoir. The Conservation Commission has protected over 100 acres of land through Conservation Restrictions negotiated with the National Heritage and Endangered Species program of the Mass. Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. We also purchased several parcels of marshland surrounding Broad Cove, parts of which are now accessible through a Nature Trail from the public parking area off County Street (Rte. 138), and from Hart St. through a Nature Trail cleared by local Boy Scouts along an abandoned rail bed now owned by the Town of Dighton.

Respectfully submitted,

William Frenette, Chairman
Charles Mello, Clerk
James Digits
John Crawford
James Souza
Lisa Caledonia, Agent