Whately Conservation Commission issues enforcement order over illegal Mill River brush clearing

WHATELY — July 19, 2026 — Whately Conservation Commission issues enforcement order over illegal brush clearing near the Mill River. The commission voted unanimously at its July 19 meeting to issue a formal enforcement order against the family trust that owns 182 Chestnut Plain Road, after extensive brush hogging along the Mill River riverfront went without response for roughly two months following an initial notice letter from Conservation Agent Kelly. The property falls within Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program habitat documented to include the federally endangered dwarf wedge mussel; Chair Scott said the violation is likely to also constitute a breach of the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act. The order sets a two-week deadline for the trust to contact the conservation agent, and copies the state Department of Environmental Protection in Springfield. In separate matters, the commission closed the public hearing on applicant Joya Casey's Notice of Intent after Casey's representative reported that DCR Bureau of Forestry officials Sean Libby and Mike Berry both support routing the project through a forest cutting plan instead, removing it from commission jurisdiction, and the commission agreed to monitor — rather than independently enforce — a fill-dumping violation at the Helstowski farm on River Road, where DCR, DAR, and NHESP are already pursuing enforcement.