Plymouth-Carver-Wareham – State permits AD Makepeace to destroy kill rare species, priority habitat for mining operations under the ruse of cranberry agriculture and “green energy”

Our Massachusetts Endangered Species Act protects our unique plants and animals-some found no where else on earth. There are 220 protected rare plants and animals in Southeastern Mass’s unique Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens natural communities. Landowners must get permits to destroy habitat or kill the species. The permits require mitigation such as conserving land or ensuring that a development project does not harm the species.

Instead of protecting biodiversity, the Department of Fish & Game (DFG) has been complicit in letting AD Makepeace kill species, destroy habitat and evade the permit and mitigation requirements. Maybe this is because Ron Amidon, Commissioner of DFG is closely connected to Jim Kane, CEO of AD Makepeace? Find out more about the connections between Makepeace CEO Jim Kane and his wife state rep Hannah Kane and former Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Matt Beaton, who named Amidon Commissioner. [coming soon]

DFG is letting Makepeace double-dip on conservation acres using the same acres for different projects. Instead of donating the land, Makepeace sells it to the state. The public pays for the conservation land — paying Makepeace so it can make a deal to kill rare species and destroy habitat! DFG is even considering granting Makepeace another permit to destroy MORE rare habitat for more solar in Wareham.

This page contains links to six permits the state issued to Makepeace for cranberry bogs that still are not built — the bogs are a ruse for sand mining — and large ground mounted solar put on top of the endangered species habitat after it was strip mined.

In 2021 MassWildlife even extended the permits — even for Makepeace’s fake bog project at 46 Federal Road that has obliterated the endangered species habitat Makepeace was supposed to protect! Here is the letter:

There are 220 species of plants and animals in the Pine Barrens ecosystem that are protected under MESA. This includes the federally endangered Red Bellied Turtle, also known as the the Northern Cooter. By destroying habitat, Makepeace kills unknown numbers of rare plants and animals, wiping out entire habitats.

Species killed, entire habitats wiped out

DFG gave Makepeace permits to kill these species protected under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act as special concern, threatened or endangered.

Eastern Box Turtle

Barren’s Dagger Moth

Frosted Elfin (moth)

Gerhard’s Underwing Moth

Melsheimer’s Sack Bearer (moth)

Persuis Duskywing (butterfly)

Slender Clearwind Sphinx (moth)

Barren’s Buckmoth

Pine Swallow Moth

Northern Tiger Beetle

Cow Path Tiger Beetle

Cranberry bogs as a ruse for strip mines & solar projects

MassWildlife is complicit in Makepeace’s scheme claiming it is building cranberry bogs and reservoirs when it is really just doing sand and gravel extraction. Here are the sites where MassWildlife gave Makepeace permits

Two fake bog projects given Take Permits by MassWildlife

46 Federal Road, Carver, 2011 Take permit for Eastern Box Turtle habitat to build cranberry bog and reservoir. 10 years later bog not build, active strip mine instead.

Frogfoot area, Tihonet Road, Plymouth, 2014, 136 acres of fake bogs. See the MassWildlife Take Permit here.

At least six strip mine and solar projects approved by MassWildlife to kill protected species and destroy their habitat

160 Tihonet Road, Wareham 50 acres sand mining & solar. Take permit for TEN SPECIES, including 2 endangered species, 2014 to present. MassWildlife REDREW the Priority Habitat to cut out the area destroyed by Makepeace’s solar project! See the Take Permit below.

71  Charlotte Furnace Road, Wareham 42 acres sand mining & solar. MassWildlife take permit for Eastern Box Turtle & “Turtle Protection Plan”*

196 Tremont Street, Carver 20 acres solar, 2021, Eastern Box Turtle habitat*

299 Farm to Market Road, Wareham 13 acres solar, Eastern Box Turtle habitat*

77 Farm to Market Road, Wareham, 24 acres for solar, Eastern Box Turtle habitat*

276 Federal Road, Carver, 79 acres, strip mine and solar (“Tihonet West Solar”)

*Source: Makepeace SWCA Letter, March 2021 below

200 acres of proposed ground mounted solar and strip mining threaten last intact forested lands, Indigenous sites, biodiversity in Wareham

Makepeace and Borrego Solar have 15 megawatts of ground mounted solar proposed in Wareham. They segmented the projects into three sites to be able to qualify for Massachusetts “SMART” solar subsidies. These three sites will impact almost 200 acres of pristine forested lands in the Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens ecoregion. The projects will “take” rare species. Once again Makepeace is playing a shell game with mitigation and DFG is going along.