The Kampoosa Bog Drainage Basin was formally designated an ACEC in August 1995. The designation highlights the importance of the bog's resources and focuses attention on issues of resource values, function, degradation and use. The designation of the ACEC, accompanied by a resource management plan, provides the opportunity and framework for protecting and enhancing the natural and cultural resources as well as the human use values of the Kampoosa Bog Drainage Basin.
Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) Program
The Kampoosa Bog Drainage Basin was designated as a Massachusetts Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) in 1995.
Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs) are places in Massachusetts that receive special recognition because of the quality, uniqueness and significance of their natural and cultural resources. These areas are identified and nominated at the community level and are reviewed and designated by the state's Secretary of Environmental Affairs. ACEC designation creates a framework for local and regional stewardship of critical resources and ecosystems.
The purpose of the Areas of Critical Environmental Concern(ACEC) Program is to preserve, restore, and enhance critical environmental resources and resource areas of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The goals of the program are to identify and designate these ecological areas, to increase the level of protection for ACECs, and to facilitate and support the stewardship of ACECs.
The ACEC Program was established in 1975 when the Massachusetts Legislature authorized and directed the Secretary of Environmental Affairs to identify and designate areas of critical environmental concern to the Commonwealth and to develop policies for their acquisition, protection, and use. Since that time, 28 ACECs have been designated covering approximately 241,000 acres in 73 communities, from the Berkshires to the North Shore and Cape Cod. The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) administers the ACEC Program on behalf of the Secretary.
For more information about the ACEC Program and the Kampoosa Bog ACEC, please try the following sites:
To visit the ACEC Program Homepage (http://www.state.ma.us/dem/programs/acec)
For an Overview of the ACEC Program (http://www.state.ma.us/dem/programs/acec/acecProgram.htm)
For an Overview of State Regulations regarding ACECs (http://www.state.ma.us/dem/programs/acec/regsum.htm)
For information about the Kampoosa Bog Drainage Basin ACEC (http://www.state.ma.us/dem/programs/acec/acecs/l-kambog.htm)
To contact ACEC Program staff (http://www.state.ma.us/dem/programs/acec/contact.htm)