Catch 22: Regulator And Potential Buyer

Massachusetts Environmental Affairs Secretary finds itself in the untenable position of both a regulator and potential buyer for environmentally-sensitive lands.

1 minute read

September 16, 2002, 5:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"When state Environmental Affairs Secretary Robert Durand joined the campaign to buy thousands of acres of pristine cranberry uplands in Southeastern Massachusetts last year, it was part of a systematic policy of acquiring environmentally sensitive land to protect it from development... If Makepeace's land holdings were sold for conservation, it would be the largest such deal involving a single landowner in Massachusetts history. But the strategy of trying to control development through acquisition - while at the same time managing growth through regulation -- has been called into question by the conflict charges."

Thanks to Chris Steins

Sunday, September 15, 2002 in The Boston Globe

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