Earlier this month, the Buzzards Bay Coalition released a 15-year report outlining its efforts to preserve 1,468 acres of forests and wetlands in the Mattapoisett River Valley, from 2001 to 2016.

The Coalition, in partnership with Mattapoisett, Marion, Rochester and Fairhaven, preserved the land to safeguard public drinking water supplies and to prevent new sources of pollution to Buzzards Bay.

“Many places in Massachusetts and along the East Coast are actually losing much more than one hundred acres of sensitive land to development every year,” said Coalition President Mark Rasmussen. “In the Mattapoisett River Valley, with the strong commitment of these four towns, we’ve been able to reverse the trend and permanently conserve our land and water for generations to come.”

The Mattapoisett River Valley’s underground aquifer supplies drinking water to more than 24,000 residents in the four towns, supports outdoor recreation, and has a number of rare and threatened plant and animal species, according to the Coalition.

In 2000, the Coalition partnered with the Mattapoisett River Valley Water Supply Protection Committee – with representatives from the tri-town and Fairhaven – to conserve land and preserve drinking water. At that time, only eight percent of the river valley was protected from development. Today, that has increased to 17 percent.

“This is a remarkable success story that we can all be proud of,” said Rochester Water Commissioner Frederick Underhill.

Of the acreage conserved, 52 percent is in Rochester, 41 percent in Mattapoisett, 5 percent in Fairhaven, and 2 percent in Acushnet. These land protection efforts cost $13 million, split almost equally between federal, state and local government grants and private funding sources. The properties are also a mixture of outright purchases and conservation restrictions that prevent development in perpetuity.

“I believe the success story you see before you is due to the unsurpassed dedication of the towns of Fairhaven, Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester in partnership with the Buzzards Bay Coalition,” said Henri Renauld, superintendent of the Mattapoisett Water and Sewer Department.

The Coalition and the advisory committee are looking ahead to protect more land in the river valley. Read the Coalition’s full report at www.savebuzzardsbay.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/mattapoisett-river-valley-land-protection-2001-2016-report.pdf.